Layers of Hell: Hazbin's Most Unwelcome Guest
by TheOriginalWriterGuy
Summary: A Doom x Hazbin Hotel crossover /\ The hellish world of Hazbin Hotel has been wallowing in a light amount of bloodshed and warfare for a while now, having never been faced with anything beyond mild cruelty and brutality. That's going to change drastically when a newcomer breaks into their world in the most unnatural way, fueled by an undying rage and ready to purge…
1. The Most Unwelcome Guest

_**Warning**: This story contains graphic content, bloodshed, cruelty, avarice, sin, demons, swearing, sexual content, and a lot of other terrible stuff. Viewer Discretion is advised._

_If you post a review, make sure to avoid spoiling the story, or if you do want to talk about spoilers, post a warning before you continue writing. Thanks!_

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Most Unwelcome Guest**

"Find that fucking rat!"

The short, burly imp that had screamed the order watched as several of his subordinates nodded quietly and scurried off to locate and drag back one particular henchmen that decided to snitch on his little operation on the far side of Imp City, which involved the weapons trade for _Exterminator _parts, the only components that could cause the true deaths of demons in Hell.

It was a profitable business, but he was always secretly fearful of those same weapons being turned on him if he were ever found out. So far, he had a large monopoly on the components in his area, but that could easily change.

As the last subordinate left his office, he slumped back in his chair and sighed. Realistically, he was not a violent one, unlike a large portion of the demons in Hell. He'd been sent down here for having committed more than his fair share of avarice, murder and torture for the mafia when he was alive. That meant he was at the bottom of the hierarchy regarding demons in Hell.

Did he want to be here? Not really, but he wasn't likely to be freed from this place anytime soon. He knew the general principle of how yearly massacres of the population took place to free Hell of all the overpopulation, yet he had not a clue who they targeted and when.

Was it based off of how long someone's served their sentence, like prison time? Did sinners who've been here for years and years get purged to be delivered to Heaven? Or was it random?

He didn't even _know _if demons only went to Heaven if they were killed by Exterminator weapons, or if they had to be directly executed by Exterminators themselves. In fact, he wasn't even sure if exterminated demons even _went _to Heaven.

Exasperated, he grabbed his _Damnation Speaker _and put on some Russian hip-hop, leaning back and kicking his feet up onto his office table.

_Knock, knock._

"Who the fuck is it?"

A shy, female imp opened the door slowly.

"S-Sorry, Mr. Adams...am I disturbing something?"

Adams reasserted himself into a more formal position.

"Ah, Annie...No, you're not. What'd you need, honey?"

Annie stepped into the room hesitantly, as was her sheepish nature. A clipboard and pencil were in her hands.

"Well, uh, I just came to read off your schedule for today, if that's...okay...sir."

Adams slouched back in his executive chair once again, a bored expression on his face, waving one hand idly at Annie.

"Go ahead." He said with a sigh, staring out the window of his high-rise office over the hellish landscape.

"Well, for today, you have an appointment with Deliore, baron of the Alsteyne Noble Family. After that, there is going to be a meeting between all of the underground heads of the Stygian Market..."

Adams was no longer listening as Annie went down the list, lost in thought as he played with a variety of ideas in his head, continuing to idly gaze at the landscape.

"...Er, Mr. Adams?"

"Wh-Yes?" He snapped back to the conversation.

"I don't want to be rude, but you told me to tell you to remember that you have an appointment with the construction team building your 'torture dungeon'?"

"Ah, yes." Adams muttered with a malicious grin. He had been waiting for months now to accrue enough money to have his own little interrogation chamber built underneath this building, which would be especially useful for extracting more information on the components and parts of Exterminator weapons in Hell.

_It'll also be a fantastic place to put that fuckin' rat, Elias_, He thought to himself.

"Alright, put that as the highest priority for now."

"Um, are you sure you want to move that appointment with the nobleman down the list? Won't that...um...offend him? And they have a, uh, a lot of power...you know..."

Adams groaned in frustration.

"I forgot how stuck-up those noble pricks are. I can't believe there's a damn social hierarchy even here, in _Hell_. Alright then, put them underneath that appointment."

Adams noticed that Annie wasn't listening to him, which irked him.

"Hey, tuts, did you hear what I said?"

"...What is that?"

Confused, Adams followed her gaze out the window. In the distance, there was a bright light emanating in the sky.

"The fuck?" Adams muttered, dread beginning to build up in his mind. In Hell, any new event was very likely not good for anyone.

The light emanated harshly, and even from the distance it was at it still hurt Adams' eyes to watch.

"Is that...a meteor?!" Annie gasped.

"Are you fucking kidding me? This is _HELL._ How would a meteor even get down- Oh shit, that looks like a meteor."

The light disappeared behind the mountainous landscape, and for a moment, Adams was left wondering if that was even real.

And then the mountains disappeared. Adams nearly shit himself as he witnessed the force of the crash travel across the landscape and towards the city, blowing away everything in its path.

"GET DOWN!"

Adams dove for cover just as the windows shattered and glass was sent flying in every direction and the building he was in groaned as the metal and infrastructure was shaken by the force of the impact.

After waiting a few moments for the dust to clear, Adams creeped up to his now-broken window, peering out in fear as he gazed over the disheveled scenery, with houses and buildings near the edge of the landscape having been obliterated or torn off their foundations.

"Christ on a bike, what the fuck was that?!" Adams shouted in terror. "Annie, are you okay?"

"...Urgh...Yeah, I'm fine, I think..."

Adams brought his attention back to the window, and he noticed the small little detail of the mountains in the distance missing.

"What the hell-"

It was then that he also noticed the thousands of huge boulders flying through the air towards the city.

"OH SHIT!"

_wheeeeeeee__**\- WHOOOMPF!**_

_**CRASH!**_

**_BOOOOOM!_**

The next few moments were ones of complete and utter chaos and pandemonium as boulders came crashing down on the city, annihilating buildings, destroying roads, and undoubtedly crushing several residents.

"HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIIIIT!" Adams screamed in panic. Despite the fact that demons didn't really die if they were killed by something other than the Exterminators or their weapons, it would still majorly suck to go through the pain that came with a gruesome death, like being squashed under a giant rock.

Finally, as the shaking and rumbling came to a stop, Adams slowly began to look up from his hiding place, seeing that, miraculously, the building he was in had not been hit.

"Holy shit, how did we manage to avoid getting 9/11'ed?" He mumbled.

"That's a very insensitive thing to say, Mr. Adams."

"We're in Hell, Annie."

"...Good point."

Adams felt a slight, searing pain in his arm, looking down to identify the problem.

"Oh, it seems I have several glass shards stuck in my arm."

"I'll go get the first aid."

As Annie scrambled off, Adams crawled over to the window once more and peered out. The entirety of the outskirts and most parts of the city were destroyed so fantastically that Adams wasn't sure if the place could be fully repaired. After all, from what he had seen, the entire fucking _mountain range_ was just yeeted at the city from the sheer blast impact of whatever the hell just came down from the crimson sky.

He noticed several vehicles heading towards the crash site, and he was sure that, within the hour, he was gonna get an interesting update on this freak meteor crash. In the meanwhile, he would lie back in his chair and watch some documentaries on the oppression of Imp folk while he healed from his wounds.

* * *

_"You know, I do believe there needs to be some CHANGES around here, darling!"_

As Alastor flamboyantly paraded himself back towards the Hazbin Hotel, Charlie took a moment to self-reflect, to consider the situation she had brought on herself.

Sure, she was able to get help from this powerfully-resourceful fellow, but at what cost? He had already made clear that he didn't share the same aspirations for the hotel as her, only looking for self-entertainment in this franchise she had hopes would cleanse the souls of these poor residents of Hell. And yet, Alastor was the only person here who could make her dreams a reality, which meant that he could control the direction this would go in.

She had to do something about it eventually, but that would have to be later down the line.

"You okay, Charlie?" Vaggie asked, and Charlie snapped out of her train of thought.

"What? Oh, yeah, of course I am!" She insisted with a smile. "We're finally going to get this hotel up, which means I can finally fulfill my dreams. Maybe this could change the whole way that Hell functions!"

She moved her gaze to the blood-red sky.

"Maybe...we could get rid of the Exterminations entirely."

"That's some wishful thinking, but I suppose that could happen down the line."

Charlie nodded emphatically.

"As long as I can still snort cocaine and fuck all the demons I want, I'll go along with whatever you wanna do with this hotel, sweetie." Angel Dust piped up, having eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Well, as long as you don't do those things in the hotel, I don't have a- Oh, hold on."

Charlie was interrupted from her sentence by her ringing Hell-Phone. She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the receiver.

"Oh, it's Stacy."

"Who?" Angel inquired rudely.

"One of the Royal Secretaries. Since there's so much that has to go through the royal family, we have several secretaries that handle the small matters."

"Damn, I should've realized I wouldn't care anyways."

Charlie answered the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Princess Charlie, we have to inform you that a massive object has just impacted near Imp City, and the resulting blast has caused the destruction of over 40% of the city."_

Charlie's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?! How did that even happen?!"

_"We don't know much about it yet, we'll update you when we find out more. For now, your father and mother have asked that you keep close to your bodyguards and stay within the city."_

Charlie sighed in exasperation. Despite their being the rulers of Hell, Charlie's parents were often doting and caring of her, almost worrywarts when it came to her health.

"Will do. Thanks, Stacy."

_"Stay safe, love."_

_Click._

Charlie stashed her phone back in her pocket, and was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Somethin' bad go down?" Angel asked with an excited grin.

"Yeah, what was that?" Vaggie inquired.

"When are we gonna spruce up the hotel?" Niffty asked excitedly.

"Hold on, guys, one at a time!" Charlie exclaimed, bringing her hands up to calm everyone. "Apparently, something happened near Imp City, a large, er, object or something hit near the mountains and caused a lot of damage to the city. I don't know the full details, but we'll find out soon enough, hopefully on a broadcast from the news."

"Sounds like we'll be waiting for the big news at the bar." Husk grumbled, making his way back to the hotel as he took a swig of the bottle in his hand.

"Gotta agree with the gramps for this one." Angel asserted. "I feel like somethin' fuckin' awesome is about to go down, and I wanna see what's comin'!"

Seeing that everyone was heading back to the hotel, Vaggie turned to Charlie, waiting to see what she would do.

"Might as well." Charlie said. "We're going to be waiting to hear what the news has to say in the first place."

* * *

_**BLAM!**_

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

_**BANG!**_

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"SHIT!"

Theodore didn't dare look back. He kept running, only focused on getting away from that...that monster.

He hadn't a clue about what the hell even happened. From what he could remember, he was driving in with the news crew to document the aftermath of the explosion. Being the cameraman, he had to keep his eye trained through the camera to record everything.

As soon as they arrived…

Chaos.

He looked back at the site where everything had gone so wrong, hearing gunshots, explosions and screaming. It reverberated in his head as he kept running.

_Must...get...away…_

In the time he had to escape, he caught but a single glimpse of the monster that had wreaked massive havoc.

He had seen the futuristic, green armor coated in blood; the menacing shotgun he held in one hand and blasted the news reporter in the face with; The dark-orange tint to his visor, which only barely revealed the rage-filled eyes of some human underneath the helmet.

That single sight had filled Theodore with terror. But the worst thing about this whole encounter was that, when that thing had blasted the head off of his co-worker, Theodore had _witnessed her soul descend into the lower levels of Hell._

That was a fate far worse than any death that could be brought upon the demons of this level of Hell. Theodore was already going through the bitterness and shitty situation that was being in Hell, but as he and the other demons here were only on a very light level, he was absolutely sure that the lower levels held far worse in store.

And if this monster had the ability to send demons to the lower levels of Hell…

He had to tell someone. Anyone. Get the word out that this fiend was on a rampage.

The mountains, which were now in shambles, formed irregular rock formations that Theodore felt was substantial cover to hide in as that monster passed by. He began to weave his way through the crumbling boulders, all the while hearing the resonating gunshots, explosions and screaming that echoed from the crash site.

_If I could just get through this stupid fuckin' maze of rocks_, Theodore thought to himself in panic.

Finally he reached what seemed to be the end of it, seeing Imp City in the distance.

"Oh, for once in my demonic life, thank God-"

_SLAM!_

Theodore felt nearly all of his bones shatter as a crushing force came from atop, sending him to the ground screaming in agony. Through the pain and suffering, he managed to crane his head up slowly, noticing a large boot had been firmly placed into his spine. He followed the limb up to the body, and then to the head, and by then he was filled with horror-

_To see that same, green-armored monster standing over him, shotgun in hand as he reloaded._

Theodore felt the terrifying epiphany that he was going to be ultimately, hopelessly annihilated, without any chance of escaping alive. He knew that no amount of pleading or crying would spare him of his fate.

"You…" He managed to mumble, as his lungs were quickly filling up with blood. "You're…the real...demon."

The armored titan standing above him said nothing, reloading his shotgun, then placing the barrel against Theodore's head.

And…

…

…

…

_Huh?_

Theodore was shocked to find he had not died yet. He looked up to find that the man had taken the shotgun barrel off his head, and leaned down to pick up Theodore by his neck, bringing him face to face with his helmet.

No words were spoken, and Theodore was left to stare into the visor of this horrific being.

_He's distracted, he must be!_

Theodore felt that, if there were a time to try and fight back and maybe even kill this bastard, now would be the time. Slowly, he reached into his back pocket with one of his hands, grabbing his pocket knife and readying himself to aim for one of the leather neck pads to stab through.

And, in a moment, he whipped it out and-

_**BLAM!**_

The demon didn't even have a chance to yank out whatever he was going to pull from his back pocket before the shotgun blew off the entirety of his head. The armored menace threw the body aside with contempt, and fixated his gaze on the city beyond.

* * *

**And his eyes were filled with rage.**

* * *

_By the way, if you love what I write, please consider checking out my Wattpad (TheOriginalWriterGuy). I need views on my content there in order to get noticed on a higher level. Whether it's legitimately reading my books or just stopping by to drop a like or a view, anything is appreciated! _

* * *

_**If you want to join my Discord and ask questions or socialize, here's the link: **_**_C8V9Wr9_**


	2. An Imminent Threat

_Side note: Here are some recommendations to listen to while you read this chapter:_

_\- Air raid siren (10 hours)_

_\- Battlefield 3 sounds of war_

_\- Any Doom soundtrack_

_If you read well enough, you'll know when and where to start listening to these for maximum enjoyment._

_That said, enjoy the slaughter._

* * *

**Chapter 2: An Imminent Threat**

"_This just in, from channel 666 news!"_

As the news blared on, the bored atmosphere changed quickly as everyone sitting at the bar in the Hazbin Hotel immediately forwarded their undivided attention to the TV screen.

"Fuckin' hell, FINALLY!" Angel huffed. "They took _way _too long to get some damn coverage in."

"Shut up, cabron," Vaggie hissed. "We want to hear what's going on."

"_With your host, Katie Killjoy!"_

"_And Tom Trench!"_

"_Our first news team hasn't reported back from the crash site, so we sent another to investigate. Hopefully, we'll be getting an update right now!"_

Katie pressed one finger to her earpiece, as if receiving new information, then placed it back down on the counter.

"_Here to you with an in-depth report regarding the on-going situation at the crash site! Fill us in on the situation, Hopper!"_

The screen then switched to a female news reporter Imp, who was visibly shaking on-camera as she gripped the microphone tightly in her hands.

"_U-Um...Hopper, here...live on...scene…"_

She slowly pointed off-screen, and Charlie gasped in shock at what was being filmed.

The camera panned over to a scene of gory carnage, with bodies strewn about the place dismembered, amputated, mutilated, decapitated and worse. Fragments of metal and rubber were lying around the scene, the remnants of the vehicles that had first arrived on-scene. The camera zoomed in on one of the bodies, and it was unlike anything Charlie had ever seen.

It was an empty husk, as if the soul had completely been drained from the body. There was a noticeably darkened imprint on the ground underneath the carcass that outlined the shape of the body, as if _something _had been pulled into the ground.

"_W-We...currently don't...know what happened here...but, uh…"_

The news reporter tried to reassert herself.

"_We have...reported cases of missing demons in the city. Several residents are saying that loved ones, employees, bosses and friends have not shown back up in or around the city after this event. Is it possible that ANOTHER Extermination is taking place, or...is something else going on entirely? Back to you, Katie."_

The screen switched back to Katie, who was still postured upright and smiling.

"_Thanks, Hopper! Now, that's all we have for now. Hopefully, we'll find out more about this strange event soon enough. I'm your host, Katie Killjoy!"_

"_And Tom Trench- Wait, I didn't even get to say anything on air-"_

_Beeeep._

The channel cut to black. Everyone at the bar was silent.

"...Well that was pretty fucked up." Angel remarked.

"I thought Exterminations only happened once a year?" Vaggie questioned. "What the hell was that?"

"Beats me." Husk grumbled, idly swigging his drink. "But it isn't a problem for this place. I'm sure it'll die off in Imp City before you know it."

Charlie receded from the bar in a state of distress. She had no idea what this could mean, and naturally she was worried for the denizens of Hell. Maybe it was another Extermination, but she didn't like that idea at all. And yet, for all the years she had been here, there hadn't been a single time that the yearly Exterminations broke tradition of doing it more than once.

She was even more disturbed by what she had seen from one of the bodies. The fact that there was a corpse in the first place was alarming, as most of the time corpses disappeared to reform back with the demon soul in some random part of Hell again.

She felt that she needed to speak with her parents about this.

"What're you achin' about, tuts?" Angel spoke up, swaggering over to Charlie. "Ya shouldn't leave your mind in the rot for somethin' like this. There's probably an explanation for it. Probably."

"Yeah...maybe. However…"

She turned to everyone.

"I'm going to head to the Capital to speak with my parents first. As much as I want to work on the hotel to get it up and running, I think that this problem needs to be addressed first. So…"

"Well shit, babe. I'm comin' along."

"Huh?"

"As am I." Vaggie stepped in.

"_I would also like to make this trip, darling." _Alastor announced. "_It's been a good while since I've visited the Capital in the first place!"_

As everyone grouped up, Charlie sighed, nodding her head.

"Alright then. I guess we'll have to put the hotel aside for now."

She squared her shoulders, looking towards the front door.

"Let's get going."

* * *

_**BrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrttttttt….**_

"_...Imp City is now under lockdown. Do not leave your domiciles and keep your doors locked. Please remain indoors for your own safety…"_

Sirens blasted, screaming and gunshots rang through the streets, and demons all over ran around in pandemonium. Adams and Annie were limping away from the grocery store.

"Holy fucking shit!" Adams exclaimed in panic, holding his side, where shrapnel and fragments from a nearby explosion had embedded themselves in his flesh. Annie had placed one of his arms over her shoulder and was leading them away from the chaos.

_**BOOOM!**_

The two demons shrieked in terror as two vehicles nearby crashed into each other and exploded, bursting into flames. Adams could hear the demons inside them screaming in pain.

"Holy shit, holy SHIT!"

"Come on, we need to keep moving!"

They continued on, eventually reaching an alleyway where they turned in. Annie opened the gate and hurried Adams in before closing it, and Adams slumped against the wall next to a dumpster.

"What the _hell_ was that thing?!" Adams questioned, groaning in pain as he felt shards of metal in his flesh shift around.

"I...I don't know…" Annie mumbled, on the verge of tears. The killing that..._thing _had done was unlike anything she'd ever witnessed. She'd seen demons in Hell get killed before, but this time around it felt like she had _seen _these demons _truly _die, which was a terrifying thought to face.

"Is he...an Exterminator or something?!"

"He can't be...they only hold Exterminations once a year. And even when they happen, their executions don't invoke this kind of _fear _in me…"

"Whatever the hell he is, we need to avoid him at all costs." Adams wheezed.

_**BANG!**_

Both of the Imps turned their heads in alarm towards the source of the gunshot, which sounded just like the weapons that monster was using.

"_Get behind the dumpster!"_ Annie whispered, pushing Adams up behind it as she also took cover.

She just barely peeked out her head, and managed to get a glimpse of a demon trying to scurry away.

_**BANG!**_

The demon screamed as he fell to the ground, a giant hole having been made in the middle of his chest. Leaking blood all over the pavement, he tried to crawl away in desperation.

And then, for the first time, Annie got a glimpse of the monster.

Clad in all-green armor of some type, towering over the Imps, and brandishing the most menacing weapons she had ever seen.

As the nearly-dead demon tried to crawl away, the green titan lifted one boot up over the demon's head.

_Crunch!_

The demon's skull was turned to mush as the titan slammed its boot down into its skull, sending brain matter and blood flying out from underneath.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS!"

The titan looked up and was immediately tackled by a large demon, who was holding various clubs and knives in its four arms. The grapple continued for a mere moment, before the green titan slammed its fist into the demon's face, knocking it back.

The green titan proceeded to then grapple the demon, and began smashing its fists into the demon's face repeatedly, caving in the demon's skull, before grabbing one of its arms.

_SKKKKRRRICH!_

"**AAAAAAHHHHH!"**

The demon screamed in agony as the green titan ripped off one of its arms, and in a show of absolute brutality, _grabbed the demon's mouth and ripped off its jaw, then shoved its severed arm into the opening, before grabbing the demon by its head and slamming it into a nearby wall._

_**CRUNCH!**_

The titan slammed its boot into the demon's skull, causing it to explode and send more blood and sinew flying. Without any sort of hesitation, it picked up the double-barrel it had dropped and continued down the street, blasting at every demon it could find.

All of this occurred within the span of 5 seconds. Annie had to contain herself from vomiting at the horrid sight.

And yet, when the menace looked up from the corpse for a single moment, Annie caught the slightest glimpse of a human face under the visor. She saw the pure, raw, unadulterated rage in his eyes, the outline of his face brimming with malice and wrath. She was left with that image as he left the corpse, continuing down the road.

"We need to get the hell out of here." She muttered, picking up Adams once more and heading down the alleyway.

* * *

"_Hellhound Zero-One Actual, we have visual on the target; It has destroyed the entirety of the scouting assault team. I repeat, Assault Squad members Riley, Reid, Hoffman, Granger and Tuft are KIA, over."_

Seymour listened to the transmission through his headset, looking over his assault rifle as he flew in on one of the several attack helicopters dispatched to the scene of battle.

"_You prepped and ready there, Hennessy?" _

Seymour looked over at his friend, Dusty, who'd been with him since the training academy. He grinned.

"_It's been a good while since we've had to be deployed. I'm itching to see what kind of fight this guy puts up."_

"_Same here. Steadman, Bricks, you guys good?" _Dusty asked, looking to the other side of the chopper, where two other assault squad members were sitting on the edge of the helicopter as it flew in.

"_We're good."_

"_Fantastic. Then let's get this show on the road." _Dusty remarked.

The heli set down on the pavement , along with fourteen other choppers that had flown in assault squads. Seymour checked that his armor and gear were in top shape, then hopped off the heli with the rest of his team.

"_We've put Imp City on a mandatory evacuation protocol. There will be transport trucks at the corner of Goliath and Beelzebub, where your team and others will be landing. Be sure to send any civilians to those trucks, over."_

"_Copy, Overlord."_

"_And remember, Hellhound Zero-One, the target is a very tall humanoid in green-clad armor, carrying several types of weaponry on him. You really can't miss him, over."_

"_Copy that, Overlord, over and out."_ Dusty finished, before looking back at the rest of his squad. "We're gonna be staying close to building walls, do _not _roam out into the street unless you're looking to move for cover. Got it?"

"**Yes, Sergeant Major." **The squad replied in unison.

"Alright, then. Let's go put this fucker down."

The squads made their way through the streets, with several civilian demons running towards them in fear.

"Evacuate the city, people!" Dusty yelled, waving one arm behind him at the mass of trucks in the distance waiting to transport civilians out of the city.

After a few minutes, the crowds of civilians began to lessen more and more, until only a few demons were running through the streets in terror. The further into the city they got, the more eerie it became, with only the siren blaring, the strong wind blowing, and the occasional groan from a dying or injured demon.

"Steadman, take point." Charlie ordered, pointing at the corner of a building. Steadman nodded, staying along the wall and moving up towards the corner. He peeked his head out, then looked back at Dusty with a look of anxiety on his face.

"Tango...spotted."

"What's he doing?"

"He's just...standing there..._menacingly."_

Dusty wasted no time, pointing at the inside of the building they were against.

"Zero-One, Two, Three and Four, head to the roof of this building and take cover."

Seymour and his squad, along with the other squads ordered, headed inside and moved towards the roof, scaling stairs as they did so.

Seymour felt his heart beating in his chest fervently. Despite having gone through a few missions himself, he had never truly felt fear, as he lived with the certainty that, even if he were killed, he'd be reincarnated somewhere in Hell again, and thus there was no real consequence to dying here. However, from what he'd been debriefed on, this guy apparently held the ability to kill demons and _send their souls to the lower levels of Hell._

It was a horrid thought. Even Exterminators weren't particularly feared, as members of the standing military were exempt from those exterminations. The idea that _this _person could send his soul further down into an abyss of even more suffering and pain…

He shook the thought from his head. The guy was outnumbered to a massive scale. There was no way he'd win this fight. As soon as they put down this threat, he could go back home to Lorie.

Finally, he and the others reached the roof, heading to the edge of it and looking over the railing.

Sure enough, the target was standing at the far end of the street, doing something to the body of a demon, and seemingly unaware of the threat he would be facing.

Seymour then noticed some of the other squads on the street level had moved up to the roofs on the other side of the street, lining their rifles up and aiming at the target. Seymour followed suit.

The figure was menacing, even from this distance. He was overtly bulky, and he towered over most of the demons, even some of the bigger ones. He seemed to be armed to the teeth, and almost as if he had every sort of modification one could add to his armor. Seymour didn't have to be close to feel the threatening aura that radiated from his figure, and it only served to invoke more fear in him.

"_ATTENTION, MENACE TO SOCIETY!"_

Seymour heard Dusty's voice through the megaphone, and looked over to the opposite end of the street to see Dusty, accompanied by several assault squad members pointing their rifles at the target. They had pushed vehicles into place as cover, and Dusty spoke from behind them.

"_THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY CHANCE TO LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS AND SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY! YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED AND OUTGUNNED!"_

The menace looked up from whatever he had been doing, and his visor turned towards the gathering of soldiers at the opposite end of the street. Seymour caught a glimpse of the weapon he was holding in his hand, which was some sort of futuristic-looking shotgun.

And then, out of the blue, he began running towards the formation, much to everyone's alarm.

"_FIRE AT WILL!" _Dusty shouted through his megaphone.

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG**_

_**BRRRRRRTTTTT! BRRRTTTTT!**_

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

_**WHIZZZ-SMACK!**_

The soldiers fired at the target, and several bullets, grenades, rockets and other projectiles exploded into concrete. The firing continued as the soldiers emptied their magazines into the thick smoke and fumes from the blasts.

"_CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" _Dusty shouted over his megaphone, and slowly the gunfire stopped. For a moment, the scene was silent, as the soldiers waited for the smoke to clear to confirm the kill.

"What the hell?" Seymour muttered. The smoke had cleared, and there was no body to be found. "Where the fuck did he-"

_**BLAM- CRASH!**_

Seymour nearly lost control of his rifle as he heard the ear-shattering blast of a shotgun from the other building, and looked over to see the menace had landed onto the other building, crushing one of the soldiers as he came down, and blasted the head off of another with his shotgun.

"DIRECT YOUR FIRE NORTHEAST, THERE'S THE THREAT!"

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

_**BRRRT! BRRRT!**_

More gunfire was sent towards the menace, though most of it missed or hit the building because no one had a good marker on him. Seymour began to panic as he watched the menace slay the demons left and right, crushing skulls against the railing, ripping apart soldiers by the waist, demolishing their torsos with a few punches. He even witnessed the monster _grab one of the soldiers by the head and rip his head clean in half._

_He's a demon slayer…._

"That guy's a fucking monster!" Seymour heard one of his battle buddies shriek in terror. "He's not taking any fuckin' damage from our rifles!"

And from what Seymour saw, the demon was right. Most of the bullets, from what he could see, just pelted off of the green armor, and the ones that did stick didn't seem to affect the menace in any way. He just kept _ripping and tearing through the squads like paper._

"_ALL SQUADS, PULL BACK TO CENTRAL SQUARE NOW!" _Dusty shouted, retreating with the rest of his group. "_GRENADIERS, FIRE A VOLLEY AT THAT FUCKING GUY!"_

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

_Whhiizzzzzz-_

_**BOOOOOOOOOMM!**_

The grenadiers from each squad aimed their launchers and fired in unison at the target, the rounds slamming into where the target had been slaughtering demons, and the ground shook from the sheer impact of the explosions. More smoke billowed from the site, and to everyone's terror, the menace leapt from out of the smoke, wielding a terrifying chainsaw, and slammed into a soldier that had been lagging behind.

"STEADMAN!" Seymour cried, seeing who the soldier was. Steadman looked back at Seymour, fear in his eyes.

_**SCHRIIIIIIIICCH!**_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The menace drove the chainsaw through the shoulder and down the torso of the poor soldier, who was screaming in agony.

"NOOOO!" Seymour cried in horror, watching one of his friends die a horrific death. A myriad of memories flew through his brain of times he had spent with Steadman

_Steadman's first birthday in the academy._

_Steadman's dog, Munch._

_Their celebration of graduation at a nearby bar._

_**CRUNCH!**_

The green-clad titan smashed his boot through Steadman's skull, ending his screaming mid-sentence. Seymour cursed and yelled at the menace that had killed his friend, and Bricks had to grab him and pull him away to safety.

The carnage continued as the squads continued retreating and firing back at the menace, who was leaping forward with unnatural speed and vigor, slaughtering whatever demons he could get his hands on. Seymour watched as another person he knew, Stefan, was thrown against a brick wall before the menace smashed the entirety of his head against it, crushing it completely.

Finally, the squad had retreated to the town square, where there were several tanks, helicopters, and other armored vehicles waiting to fire upon the menace.

_**BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!**_

_**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**_

_**BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!**_

The vehicles unleashed a torrent of hellfire onto the menace, but by then Seymour had retreated away from the action, carrying a wounded soldier around his shoulder.

"_HELLHOUND DIVISION!"_ Dusty yelled over the gunfire. "_HEAD FOR THE EXFIL, WE'RE GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"_

"WHAT ABOUT THAT BASTARD, SARGE MAJOR?" One of the soldiers piped up. "WHY ARE WE LEAVING THE FIGHT?"

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!**_

Everyone staggered in shock as one of the armored tanks blew up, looking back to see the menace jumping off of the exploded tank and onto one of the low-flying helicopters, where he threw out of the pilot.

"DO YOU REALLY FUCKING THINK YOU CAN FIGHT THAT MONSTER?!" Dusty shouted, and everyone was left to watch in horror as the menace continued to wreak havoc as they retreated.

"WHO THE HELL IS THIS FUCKING GUY?!" Another soldier shouted, and for some reason or another, Seymour felt a need to say something, anything, to get out the terror he was feeling inside.

"HE'S A DEMON SLAYER!" He shouted in a fit of madness. "HE'S THE FUCKING _DEMON SLAYER!"_

Seymour looked back once more and, in the distance, he could see the Demon Slayer had torn off a helicopter's minigun and was firing it at the other helicopters. The bullets tore through them and the pilots, sending the helicopters spinning around and crashing into the ground, exploding in the process.

Seymour let out a shriek of relief as he saw the transport helis begin to land at the EVAC zone, only a dozen or so meters away.

"_Hellhound Zero-One, the city has been declared FUBAR, get on the helis so we can get you the hell out of there."_

"_Copy that, Overlord. We're just about to get on right now-"_

_Whizzzzz-__**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Seymour was thrown back by an explosion, being thrown several feet away. Disoriented, through his distorted vision he could make out the burning wreckage of the transport helis.

And now, he was truly terrified.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…" Seymour muttered, crawling over to the soldier he had been carrying. "Come on, we need to get going, we need to…"

He looked down to see the mangled body he was trying to carry. A huge chunk of metal was embedded in his throat, and half of his face was torn off. The demon gurgled blood as his one remaining eye stared at Seymour with abject horror, before the life drained from him.

"Oh, Christ, oh my god…"

Seymour crawled away from the body, and he watched as the soldier's _soul _melted into the ground, and Seymour had the haunting feeling that the demon was being dragged to the lower levels of Hell.

In terror, Seymour crawled away from the body and towards the destroyed opening of a store, hiding behind the counter and peering over.

He watched as the Demon Slayer walked up to the parade of corpses and dying demons that littered the street, a smoking rocket launcher in hand. He threw the launcher aside and unsaddled the double barrel from his shoulder. He noticed something, and walked over to one of the bodies, which Seymour identified to be Dusty. He had a large chunk of metal stuck in his side, and Seymour knew he would be dead before long.

"_You...fucking...monster…" _Dusty wheezed, coughing up blood. The Demon Slayer said nothing, walking over to him. Dusty pulled out a handgun and aimed it at the Demon Slayer.

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

The gunshots glinted off of the Demon Slayer's armor, who was approaching the demon at the same pace.

"DIE! DIE YOU FUCKING BASTARD! FUCKING DIE ALREADY!"

_Click! Click! Click!_

Dusty's face morphed into despair as he realized his gun had no more bullets left.

_Ka-Chink!_

The Demon Slayer popped open the reloading hatch for the shotgun, which ejected two of the empty cartridges out, and took two slug rounds from the front pouch and pushed them into the loading port.

_Chink. Chink._

_Ka-Chink!_

He whipped the front of the shotgun upwards, allowing the shotgun barrel to click back in with the handle. Then placed his boot on Dusty's chest, aiming the barrel of the shotgun directly in Dusty's face. Dusty grinded his teeth, giving the Demon Slayer a look of seething hatred.

"Do...it...pussy…"

_**BLAM!**_

Seymour had to hold in a cry of horror as he watched Dusty's face get blown to bits. His body went limp, and the Demon Slayer took his boot off of the body, looking around at everything one more time. Seymour ducked his head, feeling his heart beating like a train.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, slowly, Seymour peeked his head over the counter. The Demon Slayer was gone. He slumped against the counter and began sobbing.

"_...Hellhound Zero-One Actual, are you there? Report in, Hellhound Zero-One Actual…"_

Seymour perked up, and peeked over the counter again to see the headset next to Dusty's body. He crept forward, peeking around the corners, then grabbed the headset and put it on.

"U-Uh...Yes, O-Overlord...this is Hellhound…Hellhound Zero-One team member...Seymour Lankey..."

"_Copy, Lankey. What the hell happened there?"_

"The...the transport helis, they...they were destroyed…"

"_What? How?!"_

"He...he had a rocket launcher on him…"

"_Christ, how armed to the teeth was this guy?! Anyways, Lankey, do you have a marker on where the target has gone?"_

Seymour swept his gaze around, and noticed a jeep driving down the road, exiting the city. He felt dread crawl up his spine as he realized what was happening.

"Fuck! FUCK! He's taking the road to Elysium City! I repeat, the Demon Slayer is taking the road to Elysium City!"


	3. The Capital

**Chapter 3: The Capital**

"Goddamnit, Angel, turn that jazz shit off!"

"If you let me give you a handy, Husk, maybe I will~~"

"Why don't you put on some salsa? You _putas _have shit taste in music."

"Guys, can we please get along? We're gonna be in this car ride for six more hours."

"_Yes, I agree with madame!"_

The gang was taking a car ride to the Capital, which was quite a ways away from Pentagram City.

"Why don't we put it on the radio?" Charlie suggested. "Maybe there's been an update to the incident."

Angel shrugged.

"Sure, why not." He said, changing the station.

"_...BREAKING NEWS!"_

"Well fuck me, that was quick."

"_THIS JUST IN: MAN LITERALLY TOO ANGRY TO DIE!"_

"The fuck?" Husk grumbled.

"_REPORTS OF COUNTLESS CASUALTIES AT IMP CITY; LAW ENFORCEMENT WIPED OUT, MILITARY DISPATCHES WIPED OUT, 60% OF THE CIVILIAN POPULATION MISSING OR PRESUMED DEAD; IMP CITY HAS BEEN DECLARED AN EXODUS ZONE…"_

Everyone in the car could do nothing but listen in shock as the radio continued on.

"_MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR CARNAGE HAS NOT BEEN LOCATED, BUT IS DESCRIBED AS HAVING GREEN-CLAD ARMOR, SIX FOOT TWO, AND CARRYING SEVERAL DANGEROUS ARMAMENTS; IF SEEN, DO NOT APPROACH AND REPORT TO NEAREST LOCAL AUTHORITIES…"_

"Wh-What the hell?" Vaggie muttered. "What…"

"Oh, NOW things are getting interesting…" Angel said with a grin.

Charlie, who was in distress over this whole situation, began to panic. What was going on? How did this even come to happen? She hadn't even gotten started on her hotel for rehabilitation, and now there was some menace going around and offing demons left and right.

She noticed Alastor's expression out of the corner of her eye. For once since she had met him, he was not perky and wearing a smile. For once, he was wearing a solemn, grim expression.

"_This was...unexpected, to say the least." _He muttered, his tone giving way to a hint of displeasure.

"What...do you mean?" Charlie asked lightly, afraid to step on the toes of this powerhouse. She had seen what he'd done to that cobra guy in the blimp earlier. Alastor noticed her looking and immediately changed his expression to a smooth, smiling caricature.

"_Nothing, darling!" _He said. "_Rather, I did not think something like this could happen, what with the measures I've taken, but nonetheless…"_

He looked over the horizon.

"_We shall take care of this nuisance."_

* * *

"Fuck...how far are we from Leviathan City?" Adams groaned as Annie drove the car down the road.

"Well, according to the Hell-Mapping Device, we're about 14 hours away."

"Fucking hell, can you not just say 'GPS'? When did we, as a society, decide to add 'Hell' at the beginning of every fuckin' piece of technology we got- wait, 14 HOURS?!"

Annie sighed.

"Well, sir, we chose a car that was already badly damaged from Imp City, and if I rev it too hard, it'll explode."

Adams groaned, looking down at his still-bleeding wound.

"Damn it...I thought we were supposed to heal quickly from their wounds. Why the hell is it still persisting?!"

"That's my worry…" Annie remarked ominously.

"What worry?"

Annie shot Adams a worried glance.

"Well, come on now!" Adams pressed. "Tell me."

"Well…" Annie started. "I think that guy has...the ability to...like..._mortalize _us."

"Mortalize?"

"Yeah." Annie said. "From what I saw, whenever he killed a demon, I felt like their..._soul_ was leaving this place. Like it was being dragged to the _worst_ levels of Hell…"

Adams got the chills from hearing that. He had a similar experience when he was running from the threat, feeling that if he were to be killed by that menace, he wouldn't respawn here, but in the worse levels of Hell...

"And...I think he was..._human."_

"Huh?!" Adams exclaimed. "Annie, stop fucking with me."

"I'm serious!" She insisted. "For a brief moment, I _swore_ there was a human face under that mask! I don't know what that means, but..."

"I'm getting antsy, let's turn something on." Adams muttered, reaching his hand to the radio and flipping it on.

"_This just in on Channel 666. I'm your host, Katie Killjoy!"_

"_And Tom Tre-"_

"_And we're bringing to you live a-"_

"_Hey, I didn't even get to-"_

"_-Report on the situation at Imp City. As of right now, we have literally no fucking idea what is going on over there, except that the vast majority of the population has fled to neighboring cities and that the military forces dispatched to put down the threat have been...all but...eliminated…"_

The radio went quiet for a moment, except for a single throat being cleared over the microphone.

"_Um, anyways...local warlords and nobility have sent resources and more military personnel to occupy the city, and by then we can get an estimate on the casualty count and more details on the situation."_

"_Whatever has caused this massacre is still unknown and at large, but is described by military officials as being in all green armor, extremely buff, very tall, overwhelmingly strong and fast, and equipped with an arsenal of deadly weaponry."_

"_Could this be the day of reckoning for Hell and its occupants? Will this menace be the Bringer of Doom to our society?"_

"_Tune in next time on Channel 666."_

After that, the radio cut to an advertisement, leaving Adams and Annie even more on edge than they were before.

"The Doom Bringer…" Annie muttered. "What the hell is going on?"

"Hey what's that?"

Annie looked up to see a V-shaped formation in the sky, and squinted her eyes.

"I'm not...sure…"

She got a sinking feeling in her stomach when she noticed the V was now pointing at them.

"Is it just me, or are they getting clos-"

_Whiizzzzz-__**BOOM!**_

The force of something smashing into the road right next to the car sent it flying onto its side and skidding down the road, with the occupants inside being thrown around the interior like ragdolls.

Eventually, it screeched to a halt on the road, even more damaged than it was before.

"Oh, god…" Adams groaned, unable to move as he was pinned between the ground and Annie's body. "What the hell…"

Suddenly, the car groaned, then began tilting back over, eventually landing on its tires as it was righted, yanking Adams back down towards the seats.

"And where do you two think you're going?"

* * *

"Oh shit, we're here."

Angel Dust and everyone else gazed at the majestic sight of the Capital. A colossal wall encircled the entirety of the city, manned with a variety of armed guards and mounted machines of war, but they could see the glittering lights of skyscrapers and other buildings above the wall as they drove in. A massive, medieval-style gate greeted them at the front, and Angel could see that there were a multitude of these black-laden gates leading through a tunnel and into the city.

"Sheesh, this place is locked up tighter than a nun's vag." He remarked, grinning to himself.

"I wish your mouth was also this tightly locked up, dickweed." Vag muttered in annoyance.

After several minutes of Charlie having to present herself as the princess to several guards, they eventually were let inside, and from there everyone got a chance to see the magnificence of the city. Despite being in Hell, the city screamed high-class society at every turn.

The streets were paved with smooth cobblestone, every building was wonderfully decorated and designed, demons in suits and dresses walked the streets, perusing stores or entering into refined-looking restaurants. 1920s-styled cars drove up and down the street, passing by Charlie and her crew.

"Damn, I wouldn't mind walking around drunk in a town like this…" Husk mumbled.

"This place is so clean and beautiful and CLEAN!" Niffty piped up, getting excited as she ogled the cleanliness of everything.

Eventually, the car arrived at the inner gates of the city, which showcased an even more grandiose inner area of royalty and nobility. After more exhausting explanation of her royal status, Charlie and the group got into the royal keep, where they then had to park the car in a little reserved parking spot before entering through the front doors.

"Hey, what status do you have being here-"

"Princess of Hell, Charlotte Magne, coming through!" Charlie recited one more time exhaustively. The guards moved aside as she and everyone else went through the grand double doors into the castle.

"What the hell happened here?" Angel remarked in surprise.

The interior of the castle was a mixture of elegance and immaturity. While beautiful and extravagant murals of royal ancestors and paintings of the landscape lined the walls, there were also random pictures of fruit, high-class demons partying, and the occasional covered hole in the wall.

"Don't ask." Charlie said with a sigh, noticing that Angel was about to speak up. "My dad is...odd."

Finally, they arrived at another set of somewhat grand-looking doors, though not as much as the first set of doors were. They were made of dark mahogany, with a few metal spikes protruding out of the outline of the door. Charlie took a breath.

"Alright, guys…" She started, turning to the group. "When we enter, you need to bow and address my dad as 'Lord Lucifer' or 'Your Evilness' and my mom as 'Lady Lilith' or-"

"Too much information, let's just head in." Angel interrupted, swaggering past her to open the doors.

"Wait, Angel! No!"

Angel pushed open the doors just as Charlie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Huh?"

The door creaked open to reveal an empty throne room, with the seats of royalty missing the Lord and Lady of Hell.

"Wha…" Charlie muttered in bewilderment. "Where are they?"

"I think I can answer that, milady."

Charlie turned around to greet a towering, armored demon with ram's horns, red eyes and an honest face. Despite having an intimidating figure, he wore a gentle expression, and smiled when he watched Charlie's face light up with happiness.

"Benny!"

She tackled him with a hug, and he returned the favor.

"Er, who?" Angel muttered.

"Oh- sorry, Benny."

She let go of him and motioned to everyone in her entourage.

"These are my co-workers and friends. Vaggie, Angel Dust, Alastor, Husk and Niffty." She said, pointing to each one.

"Hey there, big guy."

"Hi."

"Hello!"

"_Good to make your acquaintance, pal."_

"Guys, this is Benny. He's the Head of the Royal Guard, and he's been my mentor for fighting, and my best friend since I was little."

Benny waved with a smile.

"Glad to meet you all."

"And I'm _very _happy to meet you, Mr. Benny." Angel teased.

"Goddamnit, you sex-fueled fiend, can't you be polite for _one instance?!" _Vaggie seethed.

"Who cares, are we staying here long? Because if so, I need to know where I can easily access some booze."

"This is a clean place you got here, Mr. Benny! It's really got a nice woman's touch to it!"

"These are quite the characters you got here, Miss Charlotte." Benny said with a low chuckle.

"Benny, I said you could call me Charlie! You don't have to keep calling me by my formal name."

"Of course, I'm just used to it." He confessed. "Anyways, to answer your first question, the Lord and Lady of Hell are currently in the overworld, and are likely to be there for some time. Also, they've told me to inform you of some things while they're gone. Come with me, if you will."

From there, Charlie and everyone else was led by Benny around the palace as he explained the events that had transpired.

"And I assume you heard about the incident at Imp City?"

"Yes, I did." Charlie said with a forlorn tone. "Over the radio."

Benny shook his head with a grim expression.

"Whatever that menace is doing, he's given those demons a far worse fate than what they had before. He needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Unfortunately…"

Benny opened a set of double doors leading out onto a balcony, and Charlie was shocked by the sight below.

Down in the courtyard, there were several demons, though they were nothing like the normal, run of the mill demons one would find on this level of Hell. These demons had an aura of danger, evil and malice behind them. Each one of them was shaped in a different form. There was a crow holding a cane, a hybrid bird-snake-horse, a tiger in regal clothing holding a sword. There were demons with such a horrifying amalgamation of different things that Charlie couldn't possibly describe the absurdity.

"What...what…"

Charlie looked to Benny for answers. She was further worried as she saw the stony expression worn on his face.

"Your father believed that, to combat this new threat to our world, we'd need to summon the 72 Demons of the Ars Goetia from the lower levels of Hell…"

"WHAT?! That's a _terrible _solution! Doesn't he know how evil those demons are?!" Charlie protested, pointing at the demons in the courtyard below. Benny shushed her, pushing her arm down.

"Charlie, please!" He pleaded. "If you know how dangerous and powerful these demons are, then you should also know how grave it is to speak ill of them in their presence…"

Charlie was fueled with a mixture of emotions at this, but eventually realized it wasn't right to vent at Benny, who had nothing to do with this.

"Well...they're already here, I guess...are they just going to lounge around in the Capital?"

Benny shook his head.

"According to the military, the Demon Slayer is currently heading for Elysium City. They're going to be mobilizing tonight to head over and set up alongside the military."

"Okay, well…Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well, in lieu of the Lord and Lady of Hell being absent, you're now the temporary ruler of Hell."

Charlie was taken aback by this sudden shift of power.

"...I am?"

"Yeah, but in all honesty, there's not much to do right now besides settle petty land disputes and look over tax reforms. Your parents also asked that you stay in the Capital until this threat is put to rest."

"What? But I can't just leave my people to-"

"Charlie." Benny interrupted, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You are _royalty_. The only heir to the throne. Even though you are extremely powerful and Hell-born, there is no telling what could happen if you were to be killed by the Demon Slayer. It is _imperative_ that you remain safe, in the Capital."

Charlie wanted to protest, but no words came to mind. Eventually, she fell silent. Benny released his hands from her shoulders, feeling his point had been made.

"You and your friends will have plenty of time to do what you like in this palace. Lord Lucifer knew of you and your friends' arrival, and said that he has an ample supply of alcohol-"

Husk perked up at that.

"-Concubines-"

Angel grinned.

"-Dirty rooms-"

Niffty's eyes lit up, though Charlie was more dismayed by how her father somehow had learnt of Niffty and her love for cleaning.

"-And plenty of other faculties that can be used in the palace. But please, my lady, stay in the Capital to be safe. We will have this problem resolved in no time."

Charlie felt dread as she heard what he had said.

"What do you mean, 'we'?"

"...I'm also going to Elysium City, to help deal with the-"

"No."

"Miss Charlotte, please-"

"Benedict, I am ordering you, as princess and the current ruler of Hell to keep your station here in the Capital."

Benny grimaced.

"My lady...I would, but I've already been ordered by your parents to lead the defense at Elysium."

"But I'm ordering you! I'm the current ruler, so you should be following _my _orders!" Charlie complained.

Benny chuckled, bringing Charlie in for a hug, which took her off-guard.

"You're such a good person, Charlie. Ever since I had to watch over you when you were just starting to walk on your feet, the way you smiled at me with such joy in your soul...I could tell you would be a wonderful person."

Hearing this sentimental confession from Benny was unprecedented. She started to have flashbacks of all the memories she had with Benny.

The time she'd first started practicing sword-fighting with him.

When she was being taught how to read by him.

The time she had almost set fire to the palace after learning her powers, and he had laughed it off and given her a pat on the back after putting out the flames.

All of these moments rushed by in her head, and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Please don't go, Benny. Please."

"Don't worry, Little Charlie. I'll be back before you know it."

He released her and walked back through the doors they had come through, looking back once more at her with a broad smile, before exiting through the double doors.

"...Well, that was sad. Now what?" Angel said, breaking the silence.

Charlie looked over the balcony, down into the courtyard, where some of the 72 Demons were still milling around. One of them, a humanoid-looking elf with a bow and arrows, looked up at her and smiled.

"Now...I guess we wait."

* * *

_4 hours earlier..._

"Ugh."

Henry stared out the window of the gas station, the sound of generic pop music playing through the radio next to him. He was stuck on this shift for another 3 hours before he could go home.

He looked down at his Hell-Phone, scrolling through one of the social media accounts he had, and sighed as he realized there were still no pending chats.

"This really is Hell."

He hadn't expected to end up here in the first place, but it wasn't surprising, considering his past. Bully a teenager to commit suicide, and you definitely weren't going to make your way to Heaven.

When he'd first ended up here, he was overwhelmed with guilt, grief and terror. He had realized what a terrible thing he had done when he was alive, and he understood that it was still terrible during his time in Hell. And yet, all of the guilt and grief he had felt had eventually disappeared over time.

_I guess that's to be expected for anything really, _He thought idly to himself. With enough time passing, anything could become dull. Still, if he had the chance to repent and make up for what he did…

He sighed, feeling the despair begin to rise up in his chest again. Guess it took longer for some feelings to fade more than others.

Outside the window, he noticed a dot in the distance, assuming it was a car. From the dust cloud behind it, Henry was wondering why it was hauling ass. There really was no reason to haul ass _anywhere _in Hell.

As the dot grew in size, Henry watched as it began to slow down only a few dozen meters away, and someone jumped out of it. He was taken aback as he witnessed the figure grab the car by the front and begin hauling it towards the gas station.

"What the hell kind of drugs is that guy taking?" Henry muttered to himself.

Eventually, the figure got close enough to where Henry could properly make him out.

"_This just in, on channel 666 news!"_

The guy was pretty tall, and his muscular build only made him more intimidating.

"_Imp City has been declared an 'Exodus Zone' after an unknown threat has wiped out 40% of the civilian population and decimated the military forces dispatched to put down the threat. The casualties of this tragedy have not been located anywhere in Hell, and it is assumed that they have been 'exterminated' to some capacity. Where their souls have gone, we do not know at this time."_

He was wearing some kind of green armor, along with a helmet that had an orange visor. It was extremely unnerving to Henry.

"_Sources say he's heading for Elysium, so anyone on the routes to Elysium should consider taking careful precaution with who you drive by."_

Henry began to sweat. The road bordering this gas station was one of the routes heading for Elysium. Though maybe it was a coincidence… He began to get nervous as the figure got closer to the gas station.

"_The menace is described as being in all-green armor, extremely tall, and carrying a variety of weaponry on them."_

Henry felt his heart rise up into his throat as his mind perceived what the radio had said, and he was frozen in place as the menace outside the gas station pushed the car next to one of the pumps, then made his way towards the doors of the gas station.

"_The threat has been described as the 'Demon Slayer' and 'Doom Bringer' due to their destructive nature and tendency to, as far as we know, leave no demons alive."_

Henry could only watch as this man kicked the gas station doors off their hinges and made his way straight to the counter.

Henry was now standing face-to-face with the Demon Slayer.

"_If you see this threat, please report it to the nearest authorities and do NOT attempt to make contact or interact with the menace-"_

_CRUNCH!_

The radio was suddenly silenced as the Demon Slayer brought one fist down and smashed the radio to bits, before pulling his shotgun out with his other hand and planting it in Henry's face.

_Oh wow, I'm gonna fucking die. I'm really gonna fucking die right now._

A moment passed.

_...I'm still not dead?_

And that was when he noticed the Demon Slayer pointing a finger out the window at the car. It took him barely any time to register what the Demon Slayer wanted.

No words were exchanged as Henry slowly reached down and fiddled around with the register, eventually directing several gallons of oil to Pump 2.

_Ka-ching!_

The register came up with the price, and for a split-second, Henry was almost obliged to ask if the Demon Slayer could pay. Then, after realizing what an absolutely dumbass idea that would be, he dismissed the price window, looking back up at the Demon Slayer.

"...It's…It's done…"

The shotgun lowered, and Henry felt a wave of relief wash over him. He watched silently and fearfully as the Demon Slayer exited through the opening in the gas station where the doors used to be and out to the car, where he began filling up the car with oil.

_This can't be real, _Henry thought to himself.

And yet, this was Hell, and there was this Demon Slayer filling up gas for the tank of his car.

Once he had finished, the Demon Slayer tore the pump out and hopped back into the car before pulling out of the gas station and zooming off down the road. Henry suddenly felt warm, and looked down at his pants.

"Oh. It seems I have pissed myself."


	4. The Brewing Storm

**Chapter 4: The Brewing Storm**

Charlie sulked as she sat on the balcony looking over the streets of the Capital. It had been a few hours since Benny and the 72 Demons had left with their legions. Charlie was depressed at the sight of the townsfolk below arming themselves with weapons, boarding up buildings and creating barricades.

"What're ya sulking about, Queen of Hell?"

Charlie turned to see Husk stumbling out the balcony door, beer in hand. He clumsily took a seat next to her and gazed absent-mindedly outwards.

"Nice fuckin' sight. I didn't think there were any pretty things in Hell, but this is definitely worth the pain and suffering."

He took a swig from his bottle.

"Just kidding. Nothing's worth this suffering."

He noticed the commotion in the streets below and narrowed his eyes.

"Holy shit, they're delusional, aren't they?"

Charlie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

He waved his beer at the streets below.

"These high-society cunts really think that they're gonna stand up to the guy that completely _wiped out _Imp City? You know how big that city was? And a _single _person managed to destroy not only nearly half of the population, but the law enforcement, military, and even the local _warlords_."

He took another swig of his beer.

"If they don't stop that madman at Elysium City, we're all fucked. And if they somehow _do _manage to stop him, there aren't gonna be many coming home on our side."

Husk took yet another swig of his beer, and was curious as to Charlie's silence. He then noticed her distraught expression.

"Oh, uh...well..._maybe_ that was an exaggeration…" He said, feeling a bit guilty for what he had said so nonchalantly.

"I'm gonna...go sleep now." She said, getting up from her seat and walking inside.

"Wait, I...shit." Husk mumbled, falling back in his seat and drinking bitterly.

Charlie closed the doors to the balcony behind her, then began walking down the long hallway to her room. The door to her right suddenly opened and slammed into her face.

"Oh shit, my bad!" Vaggie said, stepping out into the hallway in her pajamas. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Charlie said with a smile. "Just...a lot on my mind, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand." Vaggie said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "I...uh...I know it's hard, dealing with this whole thing. Especially when you were just about to get started on the hotel."

Charlie nodded silently, clearly forlorn.

"Well, if you ever wanna talk, just know that I'm here, Charlie." Vaggie consoled, placing one hand on Charlie's shoulder and smiling.

"Thanks, Vaggie."

"Of course. Goodnight." Vaggie said, sliding back into the room and closing the door. Charlie continued walking down the hallway, then entered her room. She closed the door quietly, then immediately began packing some of her luggage into a small bag.

"_And just what do you think you're doing, sweetheart?"_

Charlie had to resist the urge to shriek, turning around and seeing Alastor standing in the doorway, portable microphone in hand. Alastor's smile was more wolfish in nature than friendly.

"I was, uh, just-"

"_Oh no, don't tell me you were planning on LEAVING here just to go to...what was it...Elysium City?"_

"O-Of course not! I was just...packing up some things." Charlie said, chuckling nervously. "Don't want to be messy and...stuff."

"_Oh, darling, I wasn't denying that you SHOULDN'T go to Elysium…"_

"...You weren't?"

"_Of course not!" _Alastor exclaimed, casually swaggering over to the nearby window. "_I think this adventure would be quite...exciting."_

Charlie felt that Alastor didn't have good intentions in mind, but she didn't care enough to delve into them.

"Alright, so...you're coming?" She inquired. Alastor craned his head around to face her, his smile wider than before.

"_Why, of course…"_

"Okay. So how do we get out of here without being caught by the others and all the security here?"

Alastor waved his staff dismissively.

"_Already have that handled!"_

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked. "Did you put them under a sleeping spell or something?"

"_...Sure. Now let's head out!"_ Alastor said bombastically, opening the windows and jumping out, which shocked Charlie. She ran over and looked down, only to see him standing next to a bundle of black tentacles forming a cushion. He waved his hand at her and motioned for her to jump. She stood on the window, looking back once more into the room.

"I'm sorry, Vaggie, but I have to help protect my people." She muttered, before looking back out the window and jumping.

* * *

"Mr. Adams, you there?"

Adams snapped back to reality, realizing he had drifted off into thinking about the massacre. His weary eyes made contact with the investigator, a tall, female demon with blue eyes, black bobbed hair, and short horns that stuck out from underneath the bowler hat she wore.

"Uh...yeah." Adams mumbled.

"So, you wanna tell us what you were doin' on the road going out from Imp City, right after the attack?"

"I was escaping, what do you mean?!" Adams said with an outraged tone. "That's what every fuckin' imp in that city was doin'!"

"Yes, but…"

She slid over a photo, which Adams stared at, realizing how fucked he was.

"Shit…"

It was a picture of an Exterminator weapon that Annie was carrying on her at the time, along with several other Exterminator parts and weapons in the back of the car that Adams had escaped in.

"Wanna tell us exactly what you were doing with these?" She asked, tapping her finger on the photo.

"Well, uh- I found them on the street during the panic. So, you know, I just grabbed a lot and just-"

"You found _Exterminator _weapons just lying around on the street?"

Adams began to sweat profusely.

"M-Maybe…"

The investigator sighed, pulling back the photo.

"You know what, that's not important right now. If you were at Imp City when the attack happened, we need you to clear up what exactly went down. We've got only a few accounts of the massacre, since the vast majority of witnesses to the entire thing were killed. So any information you can give on this incident would be lovely."

"And what, you plan on using this knowledge to try and _stop _that monster? You gonna out-pizza the hut as well while you're at it?"

"Mr. Adams, if you give us any information that we can use against the monster, then maybe we can suspend the serious amount of jail time you're looking at right now."

"O-Of course." Adams stuttered. The last thing he wanted right now was to get locked up for several years in _HELL._ He didn't even know what that would be like, but he didn't want to find out.

"So?"

"Well, uh…"

Adams took a breath, looking down at the table, where his hands were cuffed to.

"I guess it...it started when I was in my office, an hour or two after the meteor struck…"

* * *

"Mr. Adams, Mr. Blitzo is on the line."

"Oh, fuck's sake, I have to talk to that neurotic fuckwit?" Adams groaned, lowering the radio volume, which was promptly playing _Takyon - Death Grips_.

"Sorry, sir, but you told me to deal with the most unpleasant appointments today after what happened today."

Adams rubbed the base of his curled horn idly, looking at his roster of 'employees'.

"Fuck it, call him in. We gotta have this dealt with, anyways."

Annie nodded, her ponytail bobbing slightly, before disappearing behind the door. Adams leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to get a bit of relaxation in before having to-

"Weeeeelll, hey there, Adams, my man!"

"Goddamnit." Adams muttered in frustration as he watched Blitzo burst through the door Annie had just left. He watched as two more Imps and some animal hybrid looking at her phone came walking in behind Blitzo. "This was meant to be a short, private conversation, not a fuckin' board meeting, Blitz."

"Oh, nonsense, you grump." Blitzo responded, planting his claw nonchalantly on Adams' desk. "The more, the merrier!"

"What-the fuck-ever." Adams grumbled, dropping a manila envelope in front of Blitzo. "I need you to find this fuckin' rat." He said, pointing at the envelope. "In there is all the information you'll need to track him down and bring him back alive to me."

Blitzo picked up the envelope and opened it, looking over the papers inside.

"Holy shit, _this guy_ is the rat?" Blitzo cackled. "Isn't he here for being a massive fuckin' cuckold?"

"Doesn't matter." Adams asserted. "Just bring him back alive, and you'll get a good sum of cash."

"Well, Mr. Adams," Blitzo started, placing the files back on the desk. "My team doesn't exactly excel in kidnapping so much as _murder_. If you want us to capture this guy, you'll have to pay a bit more."

"Huh? Didn't you advertise 'murder, kidnapping, blackmailing and intimidation' on your card?"

Blitzo began to audibly sweat, and Moxxie facepalmed.

"...Oh, yeah."

"Don't waste my fucking time, you two-bit gangster." Adams growled. "I'm paying a good amount for this rat, and I expect top-notch work. If you can't do this job, then-"

"Ooh, who's that guy?"

Adams looked over towards Millie, who was leaning out a broken window and pointing down at the cityscape below.

"The hell you talkin' about?" Adams mumbled, his curiosity piqued.

"Damn, he's really on a _rampage. _Maybe you should hire that guy." She said.

"What?" Adams questioned, getting out of his chair and moving over to the broken window. As he got closer, the sound of screaming, gunfire, burning, and general chaos were becoming audible. "What the…

As Adams peeked out the window, his vision was immediately assaulted by pandemonium. The first thing he was witness to was a tall, armored figure creating havoc as he shot, stabbed, punched and beat his way through crowds of demons, several of who were trying to fight the assailant head-on.

"Probably just another turf war." Loona commented.

"If it's a turf war, why is everyone focused on just this one guy?" Adams remarked. "And I know that this turf is under that warlord, Herod. So what the hell is going on?"

Eventually, several demons engaging in the fight with the menace suddenly turned tail and ran, almost in terror.

"Why are they running?" Millie said aloud. "If they die, they're just gonna spawn in Hell again."

As everyone began to run away, the menace stood there for a moment before looking up towards Adams, who was caught off-guard by it.

And for a brief moment, Adams felt...mortal. Vulnerable.

"Annie, call a cab." He said.

"What?"

"Call a cab!"

"O-Okay!"

As Annie brought out her Hell-phone and began dialing, Blitzo confronted Adams.

"What's the matter, buddy?" He asked.

"That man…" Adams muttered. "...I have a bad feeling about this, and I'm not sticking around to find out-"

_Wheeeeeee-_

"MISTER ADAMS, WATCH OUT!"

Unable to react, Adams felt himself tackled by Annie to the floor.

_**BOOOOOOOOMMMM!**_

As Adams hit the floor, an ear-shattering explosion went off right close by, throwing him further back and sending smoke billowing everywhere, covering his vision. He coughed profusely as he tried to get up.

"Wha...What the hell?!"

Eventually, the dust cleared a bit, and Adams stumbled over to the window once more to see that the menace had a rocket launcher in hand and was reloading.

"GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!" Adams shouted, grabbing Annie and sprinting for the office exit, followed quickly by Blitzo and his entourage.

_Wheeeee-_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!**_

Another explosion went off, completely obliterating the office and shaking the building. As Adams took the stairs, he could feel the foundation of the building shaking violently, with several pieces of concrete and ceiling support cracking and falling apart.

"What the hell is this guy's problem?!" Blitzo exclaimed in outrage. "This asshole is taking away my paycheck!"

_Booom!_

Another blast rocked the building, and this time Adams was sure that the building would be collapsing very soon.

Finally, they had reached the first floor, and began running for the exit doors, passing by several injured and dying demons, bloodstains wiped across the floor.

"Please...help me…" One demon pleaded hoarsely, bleeding from several gaping wounds across his chest, arms and face.

"We should help them!" Annie said, pulling from Adams' hand and rushing over to the demon.

"We don't have fuckin' time, Annie!" Adams exclaimed, looking at the outside exit.

"Just go find that cab, I'll meet with you in just a second!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Adams questioned in distress. His gaze whipped back to the street to see a single cab parked out there, surrounded by several abandoned cars. "Holy shit, he's actually here! Let's go, Annie!"

He made his way towards the cab, waving to the driver, who desperately unlocked the back door and pushed it open.

"GET THE FUCK OVER HERE ALREADY!" The driver screamed at him, waving his arm quickly. "AND THIS IS COSTING YOU DOUBLE-"

_Wheeeeee- __**BOOOOOOOOMMMM!**_

Adams only had a half-second to witness a singular rocket smash into the vehicle and explode, sending shrapnel and metal fragments flying in every direction. Adams was thrown backwards, into a pole.

"AW, FUCK!" He screamed, feeling a sharp and constant pain in his side. He looked down to see several small little metal fragments having embedded themselves in his torso. "FUCK, FUCK! SHIT!"

"I-I'm here, Mister Adams!"

Adams looked up to see Annie, covered in blood that wasn't hers, running over to him from the building. She seemed to be sobbing heavily.

_Rrrrrrrrruummmmmmmmmmmm…_

Both demons looked back at the building, gazing in terror as it began to inwardly implode. Adams' gaze switched back to Annie, who was still staring at it with wide eyes, and pushed himself, with much pain, to get up. He ran over to her and tackling her to the ground.

"COVER YOUR NECK, NOW!" He screamed, and she did so, right before a mass of smoke and dust flooded their vision.


	5. Attack on Imp City (Part 1)

**Chapter 5: Attack on Imp City (Part 1)**

"Where am I?! Hello, Mister Adams, where are you?!"

"I'm over here, Annie, follow my voice!"

The two tried to navigate through the thick smoke and dust that billowed all over the streets from the building's collapse. Adams was scared shitless as he heard gunfire, screaming, and that constantly-blaring siren.

"Oh, god…" He muttered, coughing profusely as the dust filled up his lungs. He keeled over and fell to his knees.

_Is this it? Is this how I die so pathetically?!_

Finally, as the smoke began to clear a bit, Adams spotted Annie only a few feet away, now covered in soot and dust along with the blood that caked her face and chest. She spotted him kneeling on the ground and immediately ran over, helping him up onto his feet and wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "I have you! We're going to get out of here!"

In that moment, Adams felt a deep affection begin to stir in him, despite this horrific situation. Weakly, he pointed down the street.

"We...we need to find cover. Head down that street and we can maybe...find some cover."

It was starting to get hard for him to breathe, which only sent him into a deeper panic. Nonetheless, Annie and Adams began to slowly make their way up the street, refusing to look back.

_**BOOOOOM!**_

_**BRRRRT-BRRRT-BRRRT!**_

_**BLAM! **_

A variety of gunfire echoed throughout the city, clouding Adams' sense of direction and time. He began to feel panic rise up in his chest as his sense of familiarity of his surroundings was being hijacked.

"Focus, Mister Adams!" Annie urged him, bringing his sense of self back to reality.

"Th-Thanks…"

In the midst of all the chaos, Annie spotted a team of military personnel setting up in a small general store across the street. Desperate for some form of help, she directed Adams and her over there, until they had reached the front of the store. One of the military personnel spotted them and raised his gun.

"Stop there, civilians!"

Annie raised one hand in peace. "Please, sir, I need some help!"

The military soldier lowered his rifle, stepping closer. Annie could read his name tag:

_Hoffman_

"We can't help you right now, but I can tell you that there are a plethora of military transport trucks at the north end of this city that are going to transport any fleeing civilians out of here. If you can get there, they'll take you on-board."

Annie nodded her head fervently.

"Thank you so much! Please, stay safe!"

The soldier nodded, returning to his business on a radio station, before Annie and Adams continued making their way down the road.

They passed several fleeing demons, several of which sported some type of wound from shrapnel, gunfire, burns, or bruising. They saw some demons hiding inside stores and buildings. Every demon that Adams had seen exemplified some form of fear or terror, something that had never embodied these beings as much as this before, beings who had never been faced with the prospect of a worse fate than they were already subjected to.

"We need...to find cover." Adams wheezed, his breathing becoming more ragged. He was terrified. He had an innate feeling that he could _not _die to that green-clad menace wreaking havoc, no matter what.

"That building, over there!" Annie exclaimed, using her other arm to point to a small bar at the end of the block, its doors open.

_WRRRRRRRRVVVVVV!_

The two looked back in curiosity to see a van hurtling full speed towards them. Adams just managed to drag Annie out of the way as he jumped to the side.

_**WHIIISH!**_

"FUCK, OW!" Adams screamed as he landed on the metal shards in his side, causing him to writhe in agony. Desperate and scared, Annie began dragging Adams to the bar, only a few meters away, as Adams screamed and shouted in pain.

Finally, they had reached the doors to the bar, and by then Adams had gotten up enough that Annie no longer had to drag him. They stumbled through the entrance, and Annie quickly shut the doors, taking a nearby cable and wrapping the door handles together.

"Christ...augh…" Adams groaned. The amount of blood that was seeping out of his wound was frightening, and Annie knew he had to be treated quickly.

"Don't worry, Mister Adams. Before I died, I was going to major in Nursing."

"That's dope- now plEASe...treat me."

Annie nodded fervently, looking around the bar for any sort of first aid kit. She went behind the bar and into the back closet.

"DON'T HURT ME!"

Annie nearly screamed as she was faced with a short, stocky Imp in regal attire, holding up his hands in fear.

"I-I'm not gonna hurt you!"

The Imp's eyes slowly opened and he lowered his hands.

"Oh, thank Hell!" He exhaled in relief. "I thought that green menace had come in here…"

He got up, dusting himself off.

"I, uh...would you happen to know anything about the, uh, situation going on outside?"

Annie shook her head.

"No...except that it's complete chaos. I haven't seen any ICPD or military arrive yet. Those demons are getting slaughtered by the tens of thousands…"

Annie's sentence cut short temporarily as she narrowed her eyes, peering at the regal-looking Imp in front of her.

"Wait...I think I know you…"

The Imp became nervous at hearing that statement.

"Wh-What do you mean? I'm just...trying to survive…"

"Oh, I know you! You're Baron Loris!"

The Imp covered her mouth, looking outside the broom closet in fear.

"Don't..._please _don't say my name or rank out loud." He hushed. "This is most _definitely _not the time to be a nobleman."

"What do you mean?" Annie inquired. "I was a waitress one time in that big mansion, where you and all those other noblemen were celebrating or something."

"Oh...y-you were there for...that?" Loris asked, seeming even more nervous than before. "W-Well...uh, that doesn't matter right now. You're probably aware that we don't have the...best reputation-"

"Yeah, didn't you noble guys, like, screw over several other Imps during the Great War against Heaven? I remember reading that from some documentary in a book back in-"

"_Like I said..._not the best reputation, BUT!" He leaned in. "I _can_ offer you and that lad out there a serious sum of money if you can get me out of here _alive_."

Annie furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

"Why would you have to pay us for that? I want everyone to stay safe and alive, away from that monster!"

Loris' eyes clouded for a moment.

"What? Is this some sort of sick joke? Please, I'll pay well, just help me get out of here alive!"

"I'm not joking, Mr. Loris! I'll help you get out of here, you don't need to pay! Just...stick with me and Mister Adams, he knows what he's doing, I believe in him!" Annie affirmed with a friendly smile.

Tears began to form in Loris' eyes.

"My goodness...why is such a soul like you in Hell?"

He wiped his tears.

"Very well, then. What's your plan?"

Annie thought back to what that military team they had met earlier had said.

"Apparently, there are transport trucks that are assembled at the north end of the city that are taking on any fleeing civilians. If we can make our way there, I think we'll have a chance to escape."

Loris nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll follow your guys' lead."

* * *

_**BLAM! BANG! BRRRT!**_

_**BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!**_

_**BANG-BANG-BANG!**_

THE DOOM SLAYER TORE HIS WAY THROUGH THE BOWELS OF THIS INFERNAL HELL, YET ANOTHER STEPPING STONE IN HIS PATH TO PERPETUAL DESTRUCTION AND ANNIHILATION OF THE DEMONS WROUGHT BEFORE HIM.

NONE DARE STOOD IN HIS PATH, NOW THAT HE DEMONSTRATED HIS SOVEREIGN AND ALMIGHTY, TERRIBLE POWER.

HE WOULD RIP AND TEAR THROUGH EVERY MALFEASANCE IN SIGHT, EVERY BLEMISH ON THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE.

THEY WILL ACT AS HUMANS, SPEAK AS HUMANS, AND PLEAD AS HUMANS, BUT THEY ARE WOLVES IN THE BONDAGE OF SHEEP'S CLOTH.

THEY PLEAD, THEY BEG, THEY CRY, BUT THEY WILL **PERISH AND DIE.**

"_You have continued this rampage for an onerous amount of time, and you've yet to absorb any Argent energy." _VEGA beeped in the Doom Slayer's ear. "_I've computed trace readings of the environment, and this only matches with the Umbral Plains up to 25% in regards to landscape, live entity ferocity and aggressiveness, and atmospheric Argent energy."_

Despite listing off these paradigms, VEGA was aware that the Doom Slayer was not currently in the mood for listening rather than continuing on this rampage. VEGA watched as a passive bystander would as the Doom Slayer blasted off heads, sawed through torsos, broke off arms and legs. At this moment, he knew that his position as the Slayer's advisor amounted to little during times like these, and so it would serve a more frugal and reasonable purpose to save his data dissemination for later, during the mundane moments between each rampage.

VEGA himself was completely and utterly devoted to the eradication of all demons, so as to preserve humanity, despite what had happened on Earth. It was the ultimate project of extermination.

Sure, these demons were unlike any the Doom Slayer had faced before. They projected human emotions, the capacity to scream and shout in terror and agony, to weep and become enraged by the Slayer's actions, as if he himself were the evil here and not them. But VEGA knew better. The countless terabytes of information in his network of artificial storage, detailing the downright-evil nature of these beings, the displays of aggression, hostility and cruelty he had seen in the massacre at the UAC facilities only hours prior to the Doom Slayer's awakening, even convincing a brilliant mind like Olivia Pierce to turn into nothing more than a mere cultist. VEGA knew that these demons would go to any capacity they could to turn the Slayer against his ultimate mission.

And that simply could not happen.

And so, as any self-respecting Advanced Intelligence mind-network would…

He waited.

* * *

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Their plan assembled, Adams, Annie and Loris snuck out the back of the bar, navigating their way through the alleys with a map of the district they were in that Annie had found tucked under the bar counter. Weaving through streets when necessary and avoiding any confrontations possible. To further counter this, Annie had Loris change into normal clothing so he wouldn't stand out and potentially get confronted.

Whenever they encountered any wounded demons, Annie would treat them and tell them to come along as they went for the safe passage out at the trucks. Over time, as they made their way north, the band of demons grew into the dozens.

"There!" Annie shouted in relief, spotting a long line of large transport trucks near the outer edge of the city, taking on civilians that were fleeing from the city and climbing into the back. All of the civilians that had accompanied Annie and Adams cried in relief as well, rushing for the trucks, along with Loris. Annie was about to run off with them until she felt Adams resisting her. She looked at him with frustration.

"What are you doing, Mister Adams? We can get out of here, it's just over there!"

"Annie, I am the head of a large underground business that sold Exterminator weaponry and parts for a living. Once they dig through the rubble of my building in the aftermath and find all of that evidence, who knows what they're going to do to me?"

"But...they don't care about that! We have a massive overpopulation problem, remember?!"

"They do care. If demons aren't killed during the yearly extermination, then there would be demons vying to kill the high-society nobles and royalty all the time, even their own guards. Beyond that, I've had several dealings with royalty and nobility. They'll want me buried and forgotten before the end of the day to cover their tracks."

"Why does this matter now?! We need to get out of here!"

"Because I have no doubt we're gonna be put in some camp or center to be processed until this whole thing is cleared if we get in those trucks!" Adams exclaimed, before promptly coughing severely. "Please...just leave me and get on. They don't have any dirt on you, you were only a secretary, you can plead to ignorance."

"No! I'm not going to leave you, Mister Adams!" She cried. "If we can't get on the trucks, then we'll find a car and drive out of here."

Adams looked at the ground, nodding his head silently.

"I'm going to give you a big raise for this." He muttered. Despite the horrific circumstances they were in, Annie couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of that sentence.

"You're the biggest cheapskate I've ever worked for, Mister Adams, so I don't really believe you on that."

Adams smiled.

"Then let's get out of here so I can prove it to you."


	6. Attack on Imp City (Part 2)

**Chapter 6: Attack on Imp City (Part 2)**

_**BbbbbbBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAANNNNNnnnnn…**_

Adams was starting to grow insanely tired of that siren.

"Where are we going, Mister Adams?"

"Well, if I can remember correctly, a few years ago, I bought a small car and stored it in a garage on the outskirts of the city."

"Why?"

Adams gave Annie a look of disappointment.

"I'm a crime lord, Annie, both in Hell and on Earth. I should always have at least 15 ways to escape if I ever got found out by the long arm of the law."

"Alright, well where do you think it is on the outskirts?"

_VvvvvvvvvRRRRRRRRRVVVVVvvvvvv…_

Adams and Annie turned towards the source of the noise to see several vehicles driving up the street in the distance.

"Oh shit, I think that's the ICPD."

"Imp City Police Department? Why are there so many of them?"

"Why did you say their full title?... Anyways, I don't know, and we shouldn't care. Let's get going."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Adams was perplexed by Annie's sudden switch of mood, and Annie seemed to notice it.

"Er, I mean…"

Without explanation, she relinquished his arm from her shoulder and began waving to the squadron of vehicles coming up the street.

"STOP! OFFICERS, STOP!"

"What are you doing, Annie?! Stop that!"

_Whiizzzzzz-_

"TURN BACK, HE'S TOO POWERFUL FOR YOU TO-"

_**BOOOOOOOMMMMM!**_

Annie covered her eyes right after she had caught a glimpse of a rocket slamming into one of the vehicles and blowing it to bits. It flipped over and tumbled down the street in a fiery blaze, and the other vehicles stopped in their tracks, unloading dozens of heavily armed officers. Adams turned to see what they were facing, but he knew his question was answered before he even had to look.

There, in all of his terrifying glory, standing atop the smoldering wreckage of the vehicle he had just destroyed, the green-clad menace was reloading his rocket launcher, his helmet pointed towards the officers at the end of the street.

"FIRE ON THE FUCKER!"

_**BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG**_

_**BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!**_ _**BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!**_

_**/**_

_** BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**BRRRT-BRRRT-BRRRRRRRTT!**_

_**BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

_**/**_

_** BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!**_ _**BLAM! BLAM!**_

As the arsenal of weaponry was fired at the menace, he dodged with such quick agility, all the while firing his menacing-looking weaponry and tearing down the police force in droves. Adams watched in horror as he switched from each weapon, firing bolts of plasma to shooting small missiles from a light machine gun that slammed into officers and blew up, sending their bits flying in every direction.

The menace darted in and out of melee combat every so often, and when he did, it was to crush an officer's head, or rip their arm off and hit them with it, or break their jaw with his fists and snap their neck. Every method of execution was brutal and invoked terror within Adams. The police force, which was numerous in the hundreds, had been whittled down to only a few dozen in just the short span of five minutes.

"We need to get the _fuck _out of here!" Adams shrieked in terror, limping away from the battle, followed closely by Annie, who was crying and shaking.

"Why is he doing this?!" She sobbed.

_**BOOOM!**_

Not a moment after she had said that, the upper torso of one of the officers landed with a sickening _crunch _on the pavement in front of Adams and Annie. The officer, whose eyes were wide in shock, looked over at Annie and Adams, raising one hand weakly.

"_Don't...let me...die…"_

Annie fainted, and Adams caught her crumpling body.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" He muttered, retreating into a back alley. "Where's the fucking car?! Where did I put that stupid fu_cking car?! Damnit, WHERE'S THE FUCKING CAR, WHERE'S THE FUCKING CAR, SHIT! SHIT! FUCK! WHERE'S THE FUCKING-"_

_Slam!_

"Mr. Adams!"

Adams opened his eyes. He was staring down at a cold, steel table, his hands still chained to the top. He looked up slowly, towards the investigator, who was still sitting across from him, eyebrows furrowed.

"I understand this is hard for you to reminisce on. But please, we need any information on this 'Demon Slayer' to take him down."

Adams lowered his face into his hands, trying not to break down. The events were so horrific, so terrifying to think of. He had never faced anything like that in his life. Granted, the yearly exterminations were a bit similar, but they were organized, and Adams knew what measures to take to prevent from being exterminated, despite not knowing what exactly happened to a demon after he was exterminated.

This whole ordeal...it was traumatic, to say the least. Adams always knew that eventually, he would meet a violent end, but the very idea of dying horrifically at the hands of the Demon Slayer was somehow worse than any other possibility to Adams.

"Well…" Adams started. "I think...I remember Annie saying something about the, uh...Demon Slayer."

"What about?"

"Like, uh…" Adams muttered, trying to wrack his brain back to the event. "Oh! She said that she had seen a human face inside the helmet. Is...is that enough?"

The investigator eased back into her chair, adopting a thinking posture.

"That would be unprecedented, but...if it's true…"

She got up from the table, walking over to the exit of the interrogation room.

"Wait!" Adams shouted. "Can I...go now?"

"Go?" The investigator turned back to him. "You've given us a _lot _of valuable information, Mr. Adams, but you still had Exterminator weaponry in your vehicle. You will be serving jail time, though it will be heavily reduced for this information you've given us."

"Well, even if-if that has to happen to me, what about Annie?"

The investigator eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"She- I-...She wasn't apart of that. I gave her one of the weapons to defend herself as we were leaving the city. She has no idea about where the weapons and parts came from. Please, investigator, she doesn't deserve a punishment."

The investigator sighed.

"...Since you were cooperative in helping us with this, I'll tell you now that she's not being given any time or punishment, since there's nothing on her record previously, and she's done a lot of honest work for the denizens of Hell during her time here. However…"

The investigator unbuckled her satchel, taking out a folder and sifting through the papers inside, before grabbing a few and laying them on the table, some of which were photos.

"You may not want to throw your lot in with her from here on." The investigator said ominously, pointing to the photos and documentation, which Adams inspected.

"What the fuck?!"

The first thing Adams had inspected were the photos, one of which depicted a pretty young woman with short brown hair, bright hazel eyes and freckles facing a mugshot, blood spattered across her face. She looked awfully similar to Annie.

Another photo was of a pile of mutilated bodies in a cellar, with close-ups on mangled faces and limbs with knife and gunshot wounds, burn marks and even exposed bone and sinew.

The rest of the photos were of the same sort. Adams then read one of the documents.

_Annabelle Barkley_

_DOB: 12/03/1998_

_From March of 2015 to August of 2017, Annabelle Barkley murdered and mutilated the bodies of over 27 people, with 47 more being charged towards her. Annabelle was born in Blue Springs, Missouri, and lived there all of her life. After she graduated from high school, she attended the University of Henspring, where she was then assumed to have begun her killing spree, which consisted of several men, women and a few children, all of whose professions ranged between teachers, police officers, doctors and lawyers, and also included college and high school students…_

Adams couldn't read anymore. He was sick to his stomach.

"Please don't tell me…"

The investigator said nothing, walking for the exit.

"When you're done there, I'll take them back when we escort you to holding-"

She was thrown off when the door suddenly opened from the other end.

"Miss Woods, I would like you to release this man into my custody, please."

Adams looked up to see Loris standing in the doorway.

"What the hell?"

Loris switched his gaze over to Adams and smiled.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Adams. I've come to have you released."

As he said this, a familiar figure popped out behind him, and Adams quickly swiped all of the documentation off the table and onto the floor with his arms.

"Mister Adams!"

Adams grunted as Annie tackled him with a hug, and Adams reciprocated.

"Good to see you again, Annie." He muttered, making eye contact with the investigator and jerking his head towards the papers on the floor. The investigator sighed once more, walking over and picking them up before stuffing them in her folder.

"Your funeral." She muttered. "And, my lord-"

She turned to Loris.

"Why do you want him pardoned?"

"He and Annie saved my life at Imp City, and dozens of other Imps as well." He affirmed. "If it wasn't for them, I don't know if I would have gotten out alive."

The investigator switched her gaze back to Adams.

"Huh. Well, while I can remove your jail time, I suppose, you still need to make up for this large cache of Exterminator weaponry you've brought us." She said. "I'll go discuss your judicial punishment with my higher-ups."

With that said, she left the room, and Adams had a moment to breathe.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Annie said with a big smile. "I thought they were gonna kill you!"

"That's not how due process works. Then again, we are in Hell…anyways…"

Adams looked to Loris, who was leaning against the wall.

"I didn't expect you to come in and save my bacon like that. Thanks, man."

Loris shrugged.

"It wasn't a completely kind-hearted decision. I always pay back my debts, and I felt that I definitely owed you for saving my life as you did. Then again, you still have a punishment to serve, so let's hope it's nothing too bad. This is Hell, after all."

"I'm well aware." Adams asserted.

_Skrrt._

The door opened up once more, and the investigator stepped through.

"Well, good news is, your punishment isn't horrific or painful to any fashion, and I'd say it's actually right up your alley."

"What is it?"

"My superiors said the weaponry was modified from before to perform at a better standard. I assume you helped make these modifications, or at least had a hand in them."

"...Yeah, sure."

"They want you to help make more improvements on these weapons, or just help create something similar to them."

"Uh...okay. I guess. And where am I gonna be constructing these weapons?"

"Elysium City."


	7. The Battle of Elysium (Part 1)

**Chapter 7: The Battle of Elysium (Part 1)**

_6 hours later..._

"_Now, darling, you must keep your royal status quiet as we make our way through this city, despite the fact that no one cares about the princess of Hell, ah ha."_

"Wow, thanks…"

Charlie, wearing a cloak and alongside Alastor, began to make their way into the city of Elysium, taking the back alleyways and narrow passageways between the buildings. If it wasn't for the screaming, evacuating civilians, the ear-piercing siren, and the flooding of military personnel onto the streets, the city would have looked like a mecca of fashion and beauty, at least by Hell standards. Skyscrapers dotted the vast municipality, and rows of streets circled around the blocks of buildings, with the nobility's sector at the very middle of the city.

"_My, my, isn't this a wonderfully chaotic time of the year!"_ Alastor chimed, grinning from ear to ear. "_It's been DECADES since I've gotten to relish this type of pandemonium and horror!"_

The more time Charlie spent around Alastor, the more she grew to despise him. He was the antithesis of everything she represented and held dear to her heart. Nonetheless, she had to work with him to achieve her dream and help save her beloved denizens of Hell, despite how much they loathed her.

"Oh!" Charlie yelped, as the two had run into a monstrously large black wolfe with a serpent's tail and the wings of an angel, shining white even in this dark abyss. He looked over at them and grinned, revealing a sharp set of teeth.

"O-h, y-o-u m-u-s-t b-e C-h-a-r-l-o-t-t-e M-a-g-n-e." He spoke with a deep and broken voice, as if an animal were trying to mimic a human. "I h-a-v-e h-e-a-r-d t-h-a-t y-o-u a-r-e q-u-i-t-e i-n-n-o-c-e-n-t a-n-d b-e-n-e-v-o-l-e-n-t, w-a-n-t-i-n-g t-o l-e-a-d t-h-e-s-e p-o-o-r s-o-u-l-s t-o r-e-d-e-m-p-t-i-o-n."

He bowed his head slightly.

"I s-u-p-p-o-r-t y-o-u-r c-a-u-s-e, d-e-s-p-i-t-e w-h-a-t o-t-h-e-r-s m-a-y s-a-y. I, m-y-s-e-l-f, w-a-n-t t-o r-e-t-u-r-n t-o H-e-a-v-e-n, w-h-e-r-e I w-a-s o-n-c-e c-a-s-t d-o-w-n f-r-o-m."

His serpent tail coiled around a nearby light pole as he looked behind him.

"I-t w-o-u-l-d b-e m-y p-e-r-s-o-n-a-l o-p-i-n-i-o-n t-h-a-t y-o-u d-o n-o-t h-e-a-d t-o t-h-e f-r-o-n-t o-f t-h-e w-a-l-l-s, a-s t-h-e-r-e a-r-e s-o-m-e...u-n-s-i-g-h-t-l-y t-h-i-n-g-s a-w-a-i-t-i-n-g y-o-u t-h-e-r-e, t-h-o-u-g-h y-o-u m-a-y d-o a-s y-o-u p-l-e-a-s-e."

He turned his head back to Charlie and Alastor.

"W-e-l-l, I m-u-s-t g-e-t g-o-i-n-g n-o-w, t-o t-e-n-d t-o m-y D-a-e-m-o-n-s a-t t-h-e n-o-r-t-h w-a-l-l. A-v-o-i-d t-h-e D-e-m-o-n S-l-a-y-e-r, a-n-d I a-d-v-i-s-e y-o-u d-o n-o-t s-p-e-a-k w-i-t-h t-h-e o-t-h-e-r G-o-e-t-i-a D-e-m-o-n-s, a-s t-h-e-y a-r-e i-n a b-a-t-t-l-e f-e-r-v-o-r c-u-r-r-e-n-t-l-y. F-a-r-e-w-e-l-l."

And without another word, he turned around and ran down the street.

"_I could hardly understand a word that beast spit out." _Alastor remarked. "_Anyways, let's go see what's cracking at the north wall, eh? I'm sure it will be the center of entertainment…"_

As he glided down the street after the bounding wolf demon, Charlie took a moment to look around at the chaos, her heart heavy with despair and sadness. Though these demons weren't in a much better situation before this whole event occurred, it was both a remarkable and terrible sight to see their human side being dragged out like this. All of the emotions they displayed, their fear and anger, their desperation and agony…

_They can be redeemed, _Charlie thought to herself. _But first, we have to get rid of this Demon Slayer._

Now filled with resolve, Charlie followed quickly after Alastor.

* * *

"This is un-fucking-believable." Adams muttered miserably as he looked out the window of the factory he was placed in. "That investigator wants me dead, and she's going to get it…"

The factory, which sat atop a cliff overseeing the majority of the city, was now the workplace and modification center of Exterminator weaponry, where several demons were employed hours before to help improve the Exterminator weaponry, with Adams in charge of the development.

"Well, Mister Adams, it was this or jail." Annie said, skipping up beside him. "And I definitely think you have a better chance of surviving here than in a small, confined cell."

Adams glanced over at her, then back out the window. He was still mildly disturbed by what he had seen in that interrogation room, from what the investigator had shown him, and he wasn't sure how to deal with this information. Should he be scared, or safe?

He had no idea why she was behaving like such an innocent person right now, but he didn't want to try and scratch his head thinking about that. For the last six hours, he had been thinking of all the various ways to escape when the Demon Slayer tore his way through the city, which he believed was inevitable. He had seen, firsthand, the absolute terror and havoc that the Demon Slayer wrought, the chaos he was capable of conceiving. To Adams, he was Death incarnate, and he had no intention of sticking around when that menace arrived.

But for now, he would wait, and bide his time until an opportunity showed itself.

* * *

_**BrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHMMMMMMMmmmmmm….**_

"_This is Overlord Actual, please send Hellhound squadrons Two-One through Two-Ten to the Southwest District to evacuate their citizens…"_

Seymour was beginning to have bouts of PTSD as the all-too-familiar sounds of that horrific day echoed throughout the city of Elysium. He watched the crowds of demons run through the streets to the northern end of the city, screaming and crying in terror as they were told of the Doom Bringer's arrival.

He was even more discouraged by the sudden arrival of those Lower Level Demons, the 72 of Ars Goetia. He'd been told about them in the training academy, especially about the rarity of when they would be called to arms, if ever. The last time they had been employed was during the Great War with Heaven…

Now, they were here.

About to face the Demon Slayer.

"Corporal, you good?"

Seymour snapped out of his trance, and realized his hands were shaking. He tried to still them by placing them in his pockets.

"Y-Yes, Private Liston. Head for the, uh, Southwest District and help evacuate citizens."

The private, who had stubby horns and an innocent face, nodded and ran off. Seymour had noticed the naivete in the private's eyes, his willingness to completely trust anything and everything his superiors told him. Seymour felt sick to his stomach that, with the demons under his command, he might be sending some of them to a fate worse than this Hell.

"_Corporal Seymour, you there?"_

Seymour realized that his platoon captain was speaking to him over the radio and quickly answered.

"Er, yes, sir."

"_I need you to get up on that wall and relay to me the position of the Demon Slayer."_

Seymour grimaced, realizing how popular the term he coined for the menace had become. It was not comforting to him in the least.

"Don't you have scouts up there already, sir?"

"_I did, but those damn Goetia Demons and their hordes of atrocities are cramming the space up there and bullying my spies off. Bunch of highfalutin pricks. Try and find a place where you can get a good sighting and report it back to me, over."_

"Copy, sir."

With that, Seymour made his way through the streets and up onto the battlements of the massive wall that surrounded Elysium City. He was nearly pushed off the stairs by some of the Legionary Daemons, monstrosities of all sizes, though most of them took on the form of humanoids with Hellfire red skin, twisted horns, spiked backs, and glowing eyes that varied in color.

He passed by one on the stairs that stared him down for a moment with its purple, glowing eyes, bringing up one claw and brushing Seymour's face as the daemon smiled, revealing its jagged fangs. Its overly long tongue slithered out of its mouth and licked the mid-rim of Seymour's battle suit, making him extremely uncomfortable. Not a moment after, it seemed to have lost interest in him and continued down the stairs.

"Fucking hell…" Seymour muttered, continuing his way up the stairs.

Finally, he had reached the top, where the hordes of Daemons, along with their leaders, writhed and shrieked in leashed chaos. Just from being around them, Seymour was invariably frightened as they screeched and howled. Despite being a demon himself, these were a different kind of breed, demons that were fostered in an environment that was far, far worse than the Hell that Seymour was used to.

He tried to ignore them, and looked out past the wall. In the far distance, he could see something trailing dust, and immediately recognized the threat.

"Shit, he's closer than I thought." Seymour muttered, almost in fear. He pressed the button to his radio. "Sir, he's arriving."

"_How far, over?"_

"About a klick and a half out."

"_Copy, are the barricades and traps deployed at the front?"_

Seymour leaned over the wall and looked down, seeing several of the traps and barricades the captain was asking for, consisting of spiked poles, false ground, burning oil dumps, landmines and other grisly contraptions.

"Yes, sir, they have been deployed."

"_And how about the humans?"_

Seymour looked up and around at each pillar set atop the walls. They were pentagrams with flayed humans crucified to each one and turned upside down, their inner organs hanging from their opened stomachs. To Seymour, it was absolutely sickening, and in fact they had to have the 72 Demons carry out these abhorrent acts. According to his superior, they had apparently found out that the Demon Slayer was human, so their plan of action was to intimidate him into retreating or to wear down his nerve.

"They're set up as well, sir-"

Seymour was cut off by the sudden yelling and roaring from some of the Goetia demons, who were swinging their weapons in the air and pointing at the Demon Slayer.

"_**RRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

Before Seymour could react, the Daemons collectively released an ear-shattering screech, and then Seymour felt himself lifted off his feet.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed in terror as he was thrusted over the battlements and hurled towards the ground below, exactly where there were a plethora of traps and barricades.

_**SLAM!**_

Seymour tumbled over himself several times, all the while his senses being overwhelmed by the sounds of screeching, exploding, thundering clouds and trampling feet. For a quick second in his dazed state, Seymour's vision was filled with nothing but the oncoming horde of Daemons that was currently passing around him. They were a sight to behold in abject terror, which Seymour was feeling at this moment as he watched the blood-lusting expressions of these Daemons as they charged forward into battle.

_How could anyone fight these things?! _He thought in horror as he tried to crawl away from the fervor, all the while avoiding the innumerable traps that were set in and on the very ground he was on. He looked up to see the horde of Daemons rushing towards the Demon Slayer, and for once since this entire tragedy began, Seymour felt a cruel satisfaction, envisioning this menace being torn apart from limb to limb by these Daemons. He noticed the Demon Slayer's head turn up towards the wall, and Seymour followed his vision to the humans splayed out over the poles.

"_**RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

A deep, guttural, angry yell paralyze Seymour with fear. He had seen the Demon Slayer emit this loud cry of war.

_Bwwwwwiiiiiiiiiii-_

Seymour, now confused, squinted his eyes to get a better look at the Demon Slayer. In his hands was a ridiculously large weapon, glowing green in the middle. The glow got brighter and brighter, and Seymour felt a deep sense of panic in his gut.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit, oh shit shit shit shit-"

An innate sense of danger overwhelmed him, and he quickly tried to crawl for the nearest crater, using his radio to warn the soldiers on the wall.

"_GET OFF THE FUCKING WALL, NOW! GET OFF THE-"_

Seymour felt the temperature drop several degrees, the atmosphere sucked of air, and he looked up one last time towards the Demon Slayer, only to have a mere second to see a tidal wave of malicious, green energy rushing towards him.

_Kiersten, I love y-_

_**BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-**_

* * *

Charlie felt herself swept off her feet and thrown several feet into the air. Her vision blurred immensely as she spun around like a ragdoll.

_**SMASH!**_

She smashed through a window of one of the skyscrapers, tumbling down a corridor and smashing through another window, plummeting towards the ground.

_**CRASH!**_

She broke through the roof of a building and crashed into the tiled floor, groaning in pain as every part of her body ached. If it wasn't for her extremely resilient body, she undoubtedly would have died through all of that.

Splayed out over several aisles of food, she could hear a cacophony of sounds governing chaos, pandemonium and destruction.

_I have...to save...my people!_

With a loud groan of pain, Charlie got up from the wreckage and limped over to the entrance of the store, seeing citizens fleeing down the streets and screaming in terror, with dispatches of military personnel running in the opposite direction armed with rifles, grenades, rocket launchers and other weapons of war to combat the threat.

She pushed open the door, walking out onto the street and looking back towards the north wall.

"What the-"

She was shocked to see, in the distance, a huge gap in the wall, which had been leveled to some degree. The area was devoid of any life, and Charlie could see mounds of ashes piled around the debris of the destroyed structure.

"Princess Charlotte?!"

Charlie turned around to see Benny, at the front of a formation of soldiers, all of whom were visibly shaking as they carried their weapons. Benny advanced towards her, a look of fear and anger on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He demanded. "This is the _last _place you should be right now!"

"I-I-"

The sound of gunfire echoed in the distance from the northern wall, and Benny whipped his head up towards the sound.

"Shit…"

He looked back at his squadron, giving orders to his subordinates.

"Kevin, get LEAD agents on call to escort the Princess to the safe zone! I want her on the first ride back to the Capital! The rest of you, man that skyscraper over there, break out the windows, and start shooting down at the Hellwalker!"

As everyone ran around, Charlie felt herself lifted off the ground and realized Benny had picked her up.

"What are you doing?!"

"You were never supposed to be here! I don't know _why _you came here, but you need to be somewhere that that _menace _can't touch you!"

"I'm here to protect my people! What kind of future ruler will I be if I can't even protect my own citizens?"

Benny stopped in his tracks, and for a moment Charlie could see tears in his eyes, his face full of fear.

"You'll make a wonderful Queen one day, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! But I can't lose you too, Charlotte!"

As a horde of Daemons and one of the Goetia Demons flooded the street, charging towards the north wall, Benny stepped aside and receded down an alleyway, the air filled with the rage-charged screams of the Daemons.

"At least let me down, Benny!" Charlie exclaimed.

Hesitantly, Benny set her down on the ground, and she crossed her arms.

"I want to help, Benny!"

"This isn't the place you should be if you want to help!" He said. "There are so many other things you could be doing besides being _here_, fighting against this monster of a man!"

"Like _what_?"

"I don't know! But now is not the time to discuss what you can do for your people, now is the time to get you out of here and somewhere safe."

Benny looked past Charlie, and she checked behind her to see a team of LEAD agents landing on the ground, folding their metal wings and looking at her.

"The Princess has been located." One of them said as they pressed their finger to a headset on their ear. "Proceeding for extraction."

Charlie looked back at Benny.

"Please, Benny, let me do something!"

Benny's face was filled with sorrow, and he gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry, Charlie, but the best way you can help is by staying alive and out of this warzone."

He released her, and nodded to one of the LEAD agents, who proceeded to grab Charlie by the waist and rocket into the sky.

"Benny!" Charlie screamed as his figure grew small the higher she went up. The last thing she saw of him was a wave of the hand and a sad smile on his face.


	8. The Battle of Elysium (Part 2)

**Chapter 8: The Battle of Elysium (Part 2)**

"_I should warn you that there are a sizeable demonic presence in this city, and half of them are intending to engage in combat with you." _VEGA beeped in the Doom Slayer's ear.

It didn't matter to him how many demons wished to fight, and how many ran. He would eliminate every single demon he could find.

As he blew off the head of a large Daemon, he was confronted by a humanoid person with an owl's head and angelic wings, riding a black wolf, leading a horde of Daemons.

"Ah, so the rumors are true." He chirped, unsheathing a long, stygian-black blade and adopting a combat stance. "An armored giant clad in green. I've fought many a foe in my day- UNF!"

The Goetia Demon felt itself tackled to the ground by the Demon Slayer, who proceeded to beat it mercilessly with his fists.

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

VEGA noted, almost with humor, how the Daemons surrounding the beating did nothing but watch on as their commander and leader was being beaten to death.

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

"_Me-er...cy.."_

Without another moment of hesitation, the Doom Slayer stood up, whipping out the double-barreled Super Shotgun and driving the shotgun barrel holes into the eyes of the owl, who screamed in pain.

_**BLAM!**_

The Daemons were showered with a fountain of blood as the owl's head was blown completely off, leaving a pile of brain matter and skin tissue on the ground. The Daemons were shocked for a moment, and the Doom Slayer took this moment to take out the Gauss Cannon, enter Siege Mode, and power up the weapon, aiming it at the largest density of Daemons. Right as one of the Daemons snapped out of the shock and pounced at the Doom Slayer with a scream, the Doom Slayer let his finger off the trigger.

_**BIIIRRRRR-OOOOM!**_

Immediately, every Daemon in and around the path of the laser was annihilated, exploding in a mess of blood and gore. The Doom Slayer wasted no time swapping out the cannon with his LMG, to which he immediately began releasing a flurry of bullets and mini-missiles upon the remaining crowd of Daemons.

_**BRRRT-BRRT-BRRRRT!**_

Few of the Daemons survived the hail of gunfire, and the ones that did attempted to pounce on the Doom Slayer, only to jump right into a chainsaw.

_**VRRRRRRRMMMMM!**_

The Daemons were sawed in half as the Doom Slayer violently tore through the last remnants of this horde.

_Tink!_

For a single moment, the Doom Slayer, who had finished decapitating the head of one Daemon, glared down at a shivering demon soldier, who had stabbed at him with a small, black spear in his hands, which now broke off.

"I- Wha-"

Almost dismissively, the Doom Slayer slammed the heel of his boot into the demon's head, decapitating the demon and sending his head flying, before continuing down the street, leaving a bloody wake in his path.

* * *

"L-Lieutenant…"

"What is it, Shirley?"

Currently, Lieutenant Tenner's reconnaissance squad was holed up in one of the skyscrapers, intended to keep an eye on the Demon Slayer's movement. They were based on the 14th floor, high enough so that they wouldn't likely draw the attention of the Demon Slayer, but low enough so that they could get a good view of the battlefield.

Tenner furrowed his eyebrows as he didn't hear a response back from Private Shirley, who was assigned with binoculars on the Demon Slayer at current.

"Well, what the hell is it, Shirley?"

The female demon soldier raised one shaky finger towards the north wall, allowing the Lieutenant to see the large piles of gore concentrated in that area.

"Th-The Demon Slayer, h-he took down all...all fourteen legions of the Marquis Andras."

"WHAT?! Gimme those fucking binoculars, you delusional-"

As the Lieutenant swiped the binoculars from Shirley's hands and surveyed the battlefield, he let out a slight gasp.

"You've gotta be fucking shitting me…"

"And...the Exterminator weapons...don't work."

Lieutenant Tenner slowly lowered the binoculars, looking back at Shirley.

"...What are you talking about, Private Shirley?"

"Sir...I watched Corporal Reymond stab the...the Demon Slayer with one of the Exterminator spears...and it broke-"

"_What the FUCK do you mean the Exterminator weapons don't work, Private Shirley?!" _Tenner yelled, grabbing Shirley by the baseplate of her armor, to which she stumbled for an answer.

"I-I-"

"_Do you remember why we decided to use Exterminator weapons in the first fucking place, Private?!"_

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"_WHY, PRIVATE?"_

"B-Because the Demon Slayer was rumored to b-be human-"

"_EXACTLY, SO HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU SIT HERE AND TELL ME THEY DIDN'T WORK?"_

With a frustrated yell, the Lieutenant threw the Private aside, rubbing his temple.

He had been at Imp City, directing forces on the offensive against the Demon Slayer when he first showed up. He had watched as that monster slaughtered 90% of his entire company with little effort. He remembered the names of every single man on that team.

Rogers. Danesley. Moores. Tamwell. Barley. And countless more.

He was present for the military meeting between the overlords of Hell, the military generals, the highest-ranking officers, the LEAD commanders and even the Goetia Demons. All of the most powerful people in a single, giant room, had discussed the measures necessary to be taken against this menace, all of the preparation, arguments, and foundation to be laid in order to destroy this menace to Hell.

Despite the fact that the Demon Slayer was indeed assisting with culling overpopulation, the problem everyone had spotted was that he was not stopping his culling anytime soon, and his massacre of some very powerful overlords and military scared everyone into thinking he was planning to commit an all-encompassing genocide. Worse, that they would all be sent to the lower levels of Hell, which was something that no one wanted to happen.

And yet, _nothing _worked. The traps. The Ars Goetia demons and their legions. The Exterminator weapons. The human torture displays. Tenner was watching a repeat of Imp City happen in his hometown.

For the first time in his time spent in these decades of Hell, Tenner felt _fearful_. This seemingly-unstoppable force of nature began to make him wonder if Heaven had sent him down to do the culling, but when he was confirmed to be human, and the fact that he didn't have wings, as well as the confirmation that demons slain by him would be sent down to the lower levels of Hell all scared him into wondering if this were some outside force that had caused this to happen.

Whatever the case was, Tenner felt completely and utterly powerless to stop it.

"Jenkins." He said, and a nearby demon soldier with a radio set on his back straightened.

"Yes, sir?"

"Get Overlord Actual on the comms, tell them to pull back every demon soldier we have. None of us are going to stop this man. We'll have to leave it up to the Goetia Demons and the LEAD agents to deal with it."

"Yes, sir!"

As the radioman went off into a corner to report this, Lieutenant Tenner looked to his squadron, seeing their fear-filled faces and hesitation outlined in their demeanor.

"We're retreating to the Safe Zone. Let's get going."

* * *

"I fucking _knew _it!" Adams seethed as he began packing up his belongings. "Stupid fucking assholes putting me in the middle of this goddamn massacre for _nothing!_"

"What's wrong, Mister Adams?" Annie inquired, a hint of dread in her voice. Adams looked back at her, his face a mixture of negative emotions.

"The weapons don't work. The fucking _Exterminator weapons _DON'T WORK! FUCK!" He shouted, kicking a table through the factory window. "I just got the message from the fuckheads in charge. We can leave now, but how the _hell_ are we gonna get out of here while that _menace_ is tearing his way through the city?!"

"We'll just do what we did last time, Mister Adams!" Annie exclaimed, and Adams was almost dissuaded from his anger by her positivity.

"No...not like we did last time." He muttered. "The evacuation vehicles left just a few minutes ago, and they're closing off every available exit out of the city to try and trap the fucker in the city. I dunno what they're planning to do, but regardless, we're fuckin' stuck in here with him…"

He fell to his knees, and the feeling of despair was overwhelming. For the first time in his decades spent here since he arrived, he began to cry, covering his face with his hands.

"Oh, god, oh god...I can't believe it..._now _I'm regretting all of my sins at my time on Earth, _now _of all times. I should've never joined the mafia. All of the terrible things I did during my time there, and it's haunting me _now_…oh god…"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, then a soft hug.

"Mister Adams," Annie whispered. "We'll be alright. Regardless of where you go, I want to be there with you. I know you saw my files when you swept them off that table, and yet you still treat me like a person even after seeing what I was on Earth."

Adams stopped crying, looking up at Annie with a hopeful expression.

"I've only been by your side for a few years, but I enjoyed every single second of them, and I still continue to enjoy them. You gave me a job and a purpose in this horrible place, a home to stay in, a place I was welcome." She continued. "And you're so fun to talk to. I've never been able to talk with somebody for hours at a time about such random things. You told me about your past, your wishes and aspirations, your tragedies. How lonely you were on Earth, despite having so much power and influence."

Adams said nothing.

"I had nothing, Riley." She said, using his first name. "My mother slept with men to pay the bills, my father beat me senseless so often that I couldn't differentiate between the days. I was outcasted from every single school I went to, and my teachers treated me like I didn't exist. I had to work two to three jobs my entire middle school and high school years just to get into the college I wanted to reach. And when I did, I was drugged and raped by my roommate's boyfriend."

Adams saw Annie's face contort in pain.

"I couldn't take it anymore. I had desensitized myself so much that nothing mattered. I didn't feel any emotions, no remorse or guilt or anger or fear or anxiety or happiness or joy. Nothing at all. So I did the one thing left that I thought would give me feeling. I killed people. Some of the people who wronged me, some who didn't. I did whatever I could to get my feelings back."

Tears began to drip down her cheeks.

"I couldn't even feel terrible about how awful my actions were, all of the people I negatively affected. When I was reborn in Hell, I got my feelings back, and all of my past actions came crashing back down on me. I felt like I wanted to no longer exist. I finally got what I wanted, and it came back to haunt me. I did everything I could here in Hell to repent. I cleaned up the streets, despite knowing they would just be dirtied even worse the next day. I helped the weaker demons, trying to push them to redemption. Anything and everything good that could be achieved, I tried it. But nothing made me feel better about what I had done."

Her eyes made contact with Adams, and he was struck by the strong emotions behind them.

"Then I met you, and you gave me a job. As the years went on, those feelings of guilt and remorse and regret started to fade away as I spent more time with you, being your accountant and secretary. I loved going to work every day, and talking to you. I loved when you took me out to lunch and we talked for hours about anything and everything. I've never felt better in my past life or this one than when I was with you."

"That's why I stayed with you, Riley, even during that horrible event in Imp City. You were the first person I've ever met to make me feel truly happy, to make me like my time in this Hell. Because of you, I feel like I am truly living now, despite being in Hell."

She took a shaky breath.

"I...love you, Riley Adams."

Riley was shocked, his mouth hanging open. And then, his heart began to pump quickly, his mind overwhelmed with passion. He had felt the same way about Annie for a while now. He hadn't met somebody in his life that made him as happy as Annie did, either on Earth or in Hell. He was overwhelmed with such strong emotions at this moment.

"I love you too, Annabelle Barkley."

Annie's eyes filled with tears of joy, and the smile she gave dissipated all of Adams' negative emotions in that moment.

And they kissed.

In that moment, nothing mattered to Adams but Annie. The moment felt so magical, so wonderful, so joyous.

As he released from the kiss, he felt his resolve solidify in that moment.

"I swear to god, Annie, I will get us out of here, so we can find redemption and I can be with you in Heaven forever."

Annie nodded silently, a big smile on her face.

Adams stood up, raising Annie with one hand as well.

"Let's get the fuck out of here."

* * *

The slaughter continued, the Doom Slayer ripping and tearing through every Daemon he could get his hands on. His rage was unquenched, his mind unfiltered from the unholy level of hatred he felt for these demons.

_**BRRT-BRRT-BRRT!**_

_**BLAM! BLAM!**_ _**BANG-BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

_**BOOOOOOM!**_

_**VVRRRRRRTTTT!**_

"_It seems some of the lesser demons are pulling back." VEGA beeped. _Doom Slayer looked up to see several of the armored, smaller demons retreating down the street in a big movement.

* * *

**|| THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE. ||**

* * *

The Doom Slayer leapt forward and upwards, using a Daemon's face as a launch pad, and came plummeting down towards a group of soldiers, aiming his shotgun downwards.

_**BLAAM!**_

As he pulled the trigger, he watched the slug shots deflect off of a large shield, which had just managed to intercept the path between the bullets and the retreating demons.

_CRACK!_

The Doom Slayer came down on the pavement, cracking it under his boots. He rose up slowly, studying the large demon equal to his height in front of him, who was also armored, though sporting attire equal to that of a commander. He had ram's horns and red eyes, which glared at the Doom Slayer with a deep hatred.

"By Hell's rule, you will _not _bring harm to any more of my soldiers!" He shouted, unsheathing a large mace from his belt and readying it alongside his metal shield.

"_The demon is heavily armored, weak spots are in his eyes, mouth, neck, groin, and behind the legs." _VEGA beeped. "_Exercise caution, that mace has supernatural qualities that may be able to penetrate your armor, and his shield is unable to be penetrated with most firearms."_

The Doom Slayer cracked his knuckles as he stormed forward, his gaze focused intensely on the demon in front of him. Before he could get any closer, the demon swung his mace from the right.

And hit nothing but air.

Confused, the demon looked around for a moment in panic, as the Doom Slayer had disappeared from sight.

_**CRACK!**_

"AUGH!" The demon yelled in pain as he flew across the street, slamming into a wall. His left arm was numb, likely broken, as he had taken a hard hit from the shield, which was severely dented. He looked up with fear at the Doom Slayer, and realized he had merely launched a single punch to cause this damage.

"My god," The demon muttered in horror. "Where did this beast come from?!"

He got up as quickly as he could, stumbling and groaning in pain in the process. Looking back up at the Doom Slayer, who now had a random, dead demon in one hand and was making his way towards him slowly, realized that the menace was toying with him. His blood boiled.

"I'll make you pay, you fucking monster!" He shouted in anger, delivering a war cry as he rushed the Doom Slayer, who launched the demon in his hands at his opponent. The armored demon narrowly ducked the projectile, leaping off the ground and bringing his mace over his head in a downward attack. "_Et comen tarygur!"_

The mace sizzled and clouded with dark purple energy, and the Doom Slayer dashed to the side to avoid being hit by it.

_**CLANG!**_

The mace made contact with the ground, and sent a ripple across the street and under the Doom Slayer's boots.

Suddenly, the Doom Slayer felt egregiously slower.

"_It seems this supernatural ability is able to slow your movement down by around 80% and has removed your ability to jump." _VEGA beeped. "_You should leave the proximity of its effect immediately."_

Despite what VEGA had advised, the Doom Slayer ran towards the armored demon at his slowed pace, and the armored demon bellowed with laughter.

"Go ahead and run to your death, Demon Slayer!" He shouted, raising his mace in preparation. "You will pay for all those you have killed-"

The Doom Slayer paid no attention to his speech, taking out his plasma gun and aiming it at the armored demon, who raised his shield.

"Do you not learn, bastard? Go ahead and try it-"

_WHOOOMPF!_

The plasma gun released a wave of energy, and the armored demon felt himself propelled backwards, his mace flying out of his hands as he struck a column of a building. Dazed and disoriented, he looked around for his mace quickly, realizing the slowing effect was neutralized if he didn't have the mace in hand.

* * *

**|| WEAK. ||**

* * *

In horror, the armored demon looked up at the Doom Slayer, who was hovering over him.

_Charlotte, I'm sorry-_

The Doom Slayer grabbed the shield strapped to his broken arm by the rim.

_**CRUNCH!**_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" _

The armored demon screamed in agony as the Doom Slayer grabbed the shield with both hands and ripped it away, which then ripped off the armored demon's broken arm. The sickening sound of sinew and flesh tearing resounded in his head as the Doom Slayer threw the severed arm and shield aside, before grabbing the armored demon by his neck and lifting him up.

_**CRACK!**_

The Doom Slayer launched a left hook to the demon's face, which completely ripped off his jaw and sent it flying. For a single moment, the Doom Slayer reveled in the demon's gagging and choking as his tongue hung loosely from the open cavity in his face, before dropping him and walking over to the mace a few feet away.

_Crunch!_

The Doom Slayer slammed his boot on the mace handle, snapping it in half, which released a small burst of energy, and the mace promptly lost its power.

"_The area is still not cleared of a demonic presence." _VEGA beeped. "_Another is approaching."_

The sky suddenly turned dark, and thunder and lightning crackled in the dark clouds. The Doom Slayer turned around to see another Goetia Demon, one that resembled a human, but with the head of a unicorn and claws for hands and feet. A spiked, golden crown sat atop his head. He was surrounded by several dozens of Daemons, all of which cackled, screeched and roared fiercely.

"_MY, MY." _The Goetia Demon bellowed, his voice like a trumpet. "_IF YOU AREN'T A MOST DESTRUCTIVE FORCE. I AM AMDUSIAS, ONE OF THE GREAT DUKES OF HELL."_

He used one finger and dragged it across the air, creating a rift, to which he then reached in with his other hand, widening the rift, and pulling out a large, spiked axe, brimming with lightning.

"_IT IS TRAGIC YOU KILLED MANY OF MY FELLOW DUKES, BUT I DON'T EXPECT TO FOLLOW IN THEIR STEPS. ONCE I DEFEAT YOU IN BATTLE, I SHALL TAKE THAT MAGNIFICENT ARMOR FOR MYSELF."_

Suddenly, music began to play from all around, a cacophony of intense classical music, from sources that the Doom Slayer couldn't see. Amdusias then readied himself in a battle stance.

"_This Goetia Demon seems to possess a quality of control over atmospheric particles relative to thunder and lightning. Exercise extreme caution and avoid water and metal, and do not leap far into the air, or you may be struck by lightning. Your Praetor suit is resistant to any direct blasts, but not immune."_

Without further instruction, the Doom Slayer ran towards a nearby car, much to the Goetia Demon's confusion.

"_HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND OUT OF FEAR?" _He taunted.

The Doom Slayer paid no attention, ripping off a tire and punching his hand through the middle, securing the tire to his arm. Then, looking back at the Goetia Demon, he leapt into the air, rocketing several feet upwards. Amdusias laughed, which sounded like a trumpet being played off-note.

"_FOOLISH!" _He shouted, raising his weapon into the air. The sky crackled and thundered louder than before, and suddenly a stream of lightning came down upon the Doom Slayer.

_**CRRAAAAAAACCKKK!**_

Amdusias' smile melted quickly as he saw the Doom Slayer, having raised his tire shield, and the lightning striking it. The lightning quickly dissipated, and the Doom Slayer whipped out his rocket launcher.

"_WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST-"_

_Whiizz- __**BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!**_

Several rockets slammed into the area around and where Amdusias and the hordes of Daemons were standing, immediately ripping him and the Daemons to shreds.

The Doom Slayer slammed back into the ground, noticing that Amdusias was trying to crawl away, his lower body missing. He emitted low-pitched trumpet noises in panic as the Doom Slayer walked over to him, unsheathing his Super Shotgun and planting one foot on Amdusias' torso, planting the barrels of the shotgun in the back of the Goetia Demon's head.

"_DON'T SEND ME BACK DOWN THERE, PLEA-"_

_**BLAM!**_

The unicorn head exploded as the shotgun shells ripped through it, and the body fell limp on the pavement.

"_All demonic presence in this area has been eliminated…correction, 99% of demonic presence has been eliminated from the area."_

The Doom Slayer scanned the surrounding area, then noticed a small imp tail behind a nearby trash can. He stormed over, kicking the trash can aside to reveal two terrified Imps, one of who pounced on the Doom Slayer's helmet and scratched at him.

"MILLIE, RUN!" He screamed, before the Doom Slayer quickly ripped him off his helmet and threw him to the ground, raising his shotgun and blasting the Imp to shreds.

"_MOXXIE!"_ The other Imp screamed, sobbing, before flaring up in rage and screeching, pouncing at the Doom Slayer with claws outstretched. The Doom Slayer whipped out a pistol with his other hand and aimed it at the pouncing Imp.

_**BANG!**_

The Imp crumpled to the ground, lifeless, the bullet having torn through her head.

_Click._

The Doom Slayer opened the shotgun cartridge, inserting two more buckshot into the barrel as he reloaded.

"_All demonic presence has been wiped from the area." _VEGA beeped. "_Aerial presence spotted, 600 feet up."_

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" Charlie inquired to the LEAD agent holding her. The team of nine was flying over the city and surveying the damage, looking for any stray civilians or important figures to evacuate.

"Once we ensure there's no other necessary VIPs to extract, we'll be taking you back to the Capital, where you will stay to rule until your father and mother come back." The LEAD agent responded. "And you need to _stay _there, Princess Charlotte. Being the only heir to the throne, you need to stay in relative safety, especially during this event-"

"INCOMING PROJECTILES!" One of the LEAD agents shouted. "EVADE-"

_**BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!**_

_**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**_

_**BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOM!**_

Charlie was suddenly dropped as one of the small missiles rocketed towards the agent holding her, and she got a glimpse of the agent being blasted out of the sky as the missile made contact and exploded, along with several other small missiles that exploded around LEAD agents.

Charlie panicked as she realized she was plummeting towards the ground from several hundred feet in the air, though she had no time to react as she crashed through the roof of a building, before coming to a stop in a hard cushion of books and shelves.

"Urgh…" She groaned, trying to get up from the pile she was laid out over. "Why does this...keep happening…"

Eventually, she stumbled out of the library and onto the streets, coughing as she felt herself even more bruised than before.

_**BLAM!**_

And there, in the distance, she spotted him. The Demon Slayer, who was engaging in a battle with several of the surviving LEAD agents. One by one, however, he began to take them out, blasting their heads off, grabbing them as they flew in for an attack and ripping them apart, and out-maneuvering their attacks.

One of them left the engagement after spotting Charlie, and flew over to her, a large bullet wound in her side, which was bleeding profusely.

"Princess Charlotte." She wheezed. "Please, run as fast as you can, just run-"

_**BANG!**_

Charlie screamed as she watched a bullet rip through the agent's throat. She fell on her ass and crawled backwards in horror as she watched the agent stumbled around, choking on her own blood, holding her throat as it bled.

_**BRRRRRRRT!**_

Charlie could do nothing but watch in horror as several more bullets tore through the agent's torso, legs, arms and face, before she fell facedown on the pavement in a puddle of blood.

Standing above her, the Demon Slayer unsheathed his shotgun and blasted the head off the agent, causing Charlie to scream in horror once more, her gaze fixated on the Demon Slayer.

_Click._

The double-barreled shotgun ejected the smoking, empty cartridges, which clattered onto the street. The Doom Slayer reached into his side pouch, pulling out two more slug shots and slowly pushing each one into its respective barrel.

_Ka-schink. Ka-schink._

Finished reloading, he whipped the handle of the shotgun upwards, clicking the barrel back into place.

_Click!_

He stood over Charlie, who was shivering intensely, unable to waver her gaze from the terrifying presence of the Doom Slayer. He raised the barrel to her face, aiming it between her eyes.

And for a single moment, the Doom Slayer looked into Charlie's eyes, and she looked into his.


	9. The Battle of Elysium (Part 3)

**Chapter 9: The Battle of Elysium (Part 3)**

"**WAIT!"**

The Doom Slayer hesitated. The barrel hovered in front of Charlie's face. Sweating, she raked her mind for something to say.

"Wh-Why are you doing all of this?" She pleaded. "Why are you killing demons who aren't fighting back, who don't want to fight you? What have we done for you to do this to us?!"

She seemed shocked that the Doom Slayer could seemingly hear her, and was even more surprised when he lowered his shotgun. She could feel him staring at her through that terrifying helmet.

"I-I don't know what your mission is, but-but I'm sure there's a way we can work out a better solution than...than committing mass genocide like this! Are you an angel, or something? Is that it? Because I _swear_ to you, I'm trying to reform these people, and I just-"

"_GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU FUCKER!"_

Out of nowhere, Vaggie dove at the Doom Slayer, spear in hand. The Doom Slayer just barely managed to raise his arm in defense, the spear going through it. He yelled in rage, swinging his arm and throwing Vaggie off of him. She landed on her feet a few feet away, and grabbed a gun and a sword from a corpse off the ground, brandishing them against the Doom Slayer, who turned towards her as he broke the spear off his arm and ripped it out

"VAGGIE, _what are you doing?!" _Charlie shouted in terror.

"RUN, CHARLIE!" Vaggie shouted back. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! ANGEL AND HUSK ARE BRINGING A VEHICLE AROUND, GET IN WHEN THEY DO AND-"

She couldn't get another word out before the Doom Slayer began running towards her, raising his fist and launching a punch at her. She narrowly managed to dodge the punch, which broke the wall behind her.

"Holy _shit!_" She screamed. "This guy's fast!"

"Vaggie, get away from him, run!" Charlie shouted at her. She noticed that the Doom Slayer seemed to be tilting his head to listen to her, and his attacks towards Vaggie began to slow. Vaggie took this chance to fire several rounds at him, most of them ricocheting off his armor, though some managed to hit his exposed flesh. He grunted in slight pain, then took out an LMG and aimed at Vaggie.

"NO, PLEASE!" Charlie cried in fear, and the Doom Slayer roared in frustration, lowering his weapon, seemingly confused and frustrated by the current situation.

_SKRRCH!_

Charlie looked back to see Angel Dust and Husk pulling up in a jeep, poking their heads outside the windows.

"Oh, shit, darling!" Angel remarked. "_That's_ the Doom Slayer? Scary guy!"

"Get the hell in here, Charlie!" Husk shouted.

"AUGH!"

Charlie whipped her head back to the fight, and was horrified to see the Doom Slayer holding Vaggie by the neck, tightening his grip slowly as she choked and beat on his arm with her fists.

"LET HER GO!" Charlie sobbed. "LET HER GO, PLEASE!"

The Doom Slayer's helmet craned back to her, and Vaggie pulled something from her pocket, raising it up. Charlie caught the glint of metal.

"VAGGIE, DON'T-"

_Schlick!_

Vaggie stabbed the knife in the Doom Slayer's arm.

_**CRUNCH!**_

The Doom Slayer crushed Vaggie's neck and dropped her.

"_VAGGIE!" _Charlie screamed in horror, watching as Vaggie's eyes rolled over towards her, tears running down the side of her head, before they rolled back up into her head.

"Oh my god…" Angel muttered.

* * *

_And then Charlie witnessed the horror of her soul being dragged down below, pulled to the lower depths of Hell, screaming in horror and agony._

* * *

"_**I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" **_Charlie screamed, her hair flaming up, her eyes turning red, her teeth turning into fangs, her hands turning into claws. She leapt at the Doom Slayer, who stepped back, seemingly in shock.

Her claws glanced off of his armor, though she delivered a kick to his chest, knocking him back. He tightened his fist as she leapt at him again, launching it upwards and knocking her into orbit. She flew several feet into the air, but immediately re-oriented herself and came down with a rage-filled scream.

_**SLAM!**_

The Doom Slayer dodged just as she slammed into the concrete, sending spindly cracks across the street.

_Crack!_

An arrow had suddenly embedded itself in an exposed part of the Doom Slayer's armor, and he looked up to see an elfish-looking humanoid holding a bow and arrow, nocking another arrow.

"Sabnock!" He shouted. "Deliver the killing blow!"

The Doom Slayer dodged a downwards scythe as this was said, and saw the assailant to be a humanoid with the head of a lion riding a black horse, holding an elongated scythe.

"I shall bear him death, brother!" The lion cried. "And it shall be-"

_**BLAM!**_

The lion's sentence was cut short as a giant hole opened up in his chest, courtesy of the Doom Slayer's shotgun.

"Slain...like this?" The lion choked, falling off his horse.

"_**I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"**_

The Doom Slayer was suddenly jerked forward as Charlie jumped on his head, raking her claws over his helmet.

"Keep him there, Princess, while I let loose this arrow!" The archer said, pulling back the bowstring and loosing the arrow.

_Whiiiiz-_

The Doom Slayer caught the shaft of the arrow, inches from his helmet. He crushed it and stabbed the sharp end into the arm of Charlie, who screeched in pain and let go of his helmet, before he grabbed her and threw her across the street.

"_Well, if it isn't the Demon Slayer himself!"_

The Doom Slayer turned his head upwards towards a nearby roof to see a tall figure with a portable radio staff in his hands and a wide smile.

"_I wanted to see you up close so badly, but now I get the- Woah!"_

He ducked as a rocket flew over his head, seeing the Doom Slayer holding a rocket launcher.

"_You're a quick one, aren't you?" _Alastor remarked, waving his hand. Several black tendrils broke through the ground, wrapping around the Doom Slayer's limbs. Struggling against this, he watched as several more monsters lining the streets and roofs around him, all with weapons in hand, some of them armored as the team of demons he had fought earlier. "_Well, you were entertaining for the time you were here, but I think it's time to put a stop to this show."_

The tendrils continued to wrap around his arms and legs, pulling at his strength more and more.

"_Now, it's time to bring an end to you, I believe."_ Alastor proclaimed, pointing one finger at him. At once, all of the demons surrounding him charged towards him, bellowing their war cries, the tendrils still keeping him restrained.

"_Demonic presence overwhelming." _VEGA beeped. "_Administering Berserk gene."_

_Tsss!_

"**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The Doom Slayer roared in defiance of the overwhelming situation as his veins flooded with adrenaline, his vision turning red, his strength bulking itself up several times over.

_**SQUELCH!**_

The Doom Slayer grabbed one tendril and ripped it out of the ground, just as the closest demon pounced at him. He grabbed it by its head and crushed it, before ripping out another tendril holding his leg.

_**CRACK!**_

He launched a kick at another demon closing in, sending it flying backwards and through the crowd of demons running towards him, knocking several of them out of the fight.

_**SQUELCH!**_

He ripped another tendril holding his other arm, and grabbed an approaching demon by its waist and tore it in half, then pulled out his chainsaw and drove it through the last tendril holding him down.

"_What the hell?" _Alastor muttered as he witnessed this unprecedented display.

"_Administering Haste gene." _VEGA beeped.

_Tssss!_

A yellow glow emanated from the Doom Slayer's protruding veins, and within the moment he immediately rammed into a line of demons, punching and kicking through them as if they were tissue

_**CRACK! CRASH! SLAM!**_

_**SCHLICK! SQUELCH! **_

_**BOOM! BLAM! BANG!**_

Blood painted the sidewalks and walls of nearby buildings as the Doom Slayer proceeded to rip and tear through every demon he could get his hands on, tearing off heads, ripping them apart at the waist, blasting through them with his shotgun, crushing their skulls under his boot, and causing carnage unlike anything Alastor had seen in his lifetime.

And yet, the monsters flooded in, eager to take down this menace despite the slaughter he invited to their Hell.

"_Doom Slayer, it would seem that the Haste and Berserk genes are going to run out soon. It is imperative that you use the rest of this time to escape now."_ VEGA beeped in the Slayer's ear.

And thus, the Doom Slayer rocketed off the ground and into the air, over the walls of the city, just as Charlie launched a fireball at the place he was standing only seconds before, where several demons were then set alight. They screamed in agony as their skin boiled and popped, and by then the carnage was over. The last thing Alastor saw of the Doom Slayer then was the rage underneath that helmet as it disappeared over the wall, the unadulterated fury hidden underneath the orange-tinted visor. For the first time in his life, Alastor felt chills run down his spine at the sight.

Within minutes, the rage in Charlie dissipated, and replaced with a deep sorrow as she stumbled over to Vaggie's body. She began to sob as she hugged the body, crying out to the skies above. At the same time, military personnel swarmed the area, treating the injured and lining the battlements of the wall, watching as the Doom Slayer excommunicated from the site.

"Christ, look how fast he's running!" One of them exclaimed. "That must be at least 50 miles per hour!"

Meanwhile, Charlie wept over Vaggie's corpse, holding it against her, with Angel Dust and Husk standing a few feet away, grimly silent. The lightning and thunder in the skies ceased, and a light rain came down upon the streets, washing away the evidence of carnage and slaughter that took place that day.

Elysium City had won.


	10. Unprecedented Power

**Chapter 10: Unprecedented Power**

"_Your power levels are alarmingly low. Take a rest when you can and try not to move around as much." _VEGA beeped.

The Doom Slayer was running through the wastelands, hours after the attack he had made on that demonic civilization. Thousands of things were running through his mind, all of them leaving him with more questions than answers.

Eventually, he found what seemed to be an abandoned outpost, seemingly void of any demonic presence. A damaged chain link fence ran around the outpost for over 30 meters on each side, and a few tents and a small building could be seen from where the Doom Slayer was.

"_You can recover here."_

The Doom Slayer ripped the gate off its hinges and stepped into the camp, scanning the environment for any demonic presence. He went over to the small building first, kicking the door open and scanning the room with his shotgun. The only things inside were a generator and a mess of switches and dials on the wall next to it.

He left the building and began searching the tents one by one. When he came to the last tent, he opened the flap to reveal two Imps. One of them was tending to the wounds of the other.

Both of them turned to see the Doom Slayer's helmet peeking in, and their faces turned pale.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

The Doom Slayer stepped in, slowly bringing his shotgun up and aiming it at one of them. The other stepped in the way of the barrel, shielding her.

His face was full of defiance, so similar to a human's. The Doom Slayer couldn't differentiate that expression from a human's, and he lowered his gun, stepping outside of the tent and releasing a pent-up yell of anger.

"_What are you doing, Doom Slayer?" _VEGA beeped.

The Doom Slayer threw the shotgun at the ground, and leapt at the small building nearby and began beating at it with his fists.

_**CRACK!**_

_**CRACK!**_

_**CRACK!**_

The brick wall caved in with each punch, before the entire building eventually caved in and imploded on itself. The Doom Slayer released another rage-filled roar.

"_You cannot keep wasting energy, Doom Slayer." _VEGA beeped. "_You must regenerate your capacity. For some odd reason, you are not absorbing any Argent energy from this place. Over time, I have gathered data and information from the surrounding landscape and demons that you have vanquished, and it would seem this is not the same Hell as the one we are familiar with."_

The Doom Slayer stormed back over to the tent, ripping open the flaps to reveal the recovering Imps. He grabbed the male one by the scruff of its neck and raised it up.

* * *

**|| SPEAK. ||**

* * *

"_Can you understand me?" _VEGA beeped aloud, projecting its voice outwards. The Imp nodded fervently, shaking in fear.

"Y-Yes, I can!"

The Doom Slayer dropped the Imp, who scurried back towards the female Imp.

"_You...understood that demon, Doom Slayer?"_

The Doom Slayer stared silently down at the Imps before it.

"U-Um...I'm Adams, th-this is Annie. We...we know what you did, Demon Slayer, but please, I-"

"_Demon Slayer? It seems they've given you a name." _VEGA beeped. However, the Doom Slayer was not focused on that in the moment.

* * *

**|| ASK IT QUESTIONS. ||**

* * *

"_Those are human-sounding names." _VEGA beeped to the Imps. "_Why have you adopted these names?"_

"W-What? Don't you know?"

"_Know what?"_

"We...we used to be humans. We died, and we were reincarnated down here, in Hell, as demons."

Neither the Doom Slayer nor VEGA said a word. The Doom Slayer left the tent, out into the open ground. He dropped to his knees, looking at his gloves, heavily stained with the blood of those he had killed.

"_..."_

It was no wonder they acted so fearfully that they fled from him. From what he had seen, they still had their souls, they still had humanity left in them to elicit fear, anger, love.

This entire time, he had been killing demons with human souls.

His fists tightened in rage, not at demons,

But at himself.

He felt an energy stirring in his arms, something that made him wildly uncomfortable. He slammed his arms into the ground.

_**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVRGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSAUGHHHHAGAGAHGUAHGUAHUGHUAHGUAHUGHAUGHUAHGUAHUGHAUHGAUHFUAHGAUGHUAHGUAHGUAHUGAHGUHGUAHGUAHGUHAUGHUAHGUAHGUAHGUHAUGHAUGHUAHGUAHGUAHGUAHGUAHGUHGUAHGUH-**_

The Doom Slayer watched as the ground swirled around him, with bones and flesh and sinew emerging from the ground, almost like corpses being pulled and re-animated from their graves. He watched as they slowly began to take form, turning into humanoid figures.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"_

The sickening sound of bone and flesh melding together emanated all around him, and the first humanoid figure to form took on detail. A naked female Imp, who immediately collapsed to the ground.

"_Doom Slayer, what did you just do?" _VEGA beeped in astonishment.

The Doom Slayer took another look at his hands. They seemed a little less bloodied than before. He looked back up at the Imp, and realized he recognized her.

* * *

**|| THE FIRST DEMON I KILLED HERE. ||**

* * *

"_Is that really?" _VEGA beeped with an inquiring tone.

A blue energy swirled in the Imp's eyes as she stared at the Doom Slayer, a mix of relief and astonishment.

"My god...My god...I'm free from that place...My god…" She muttered.

Another demon was fully fleshed out, to reveal another demon the Slayer had killed. Then another. And another. Over the course of a few minutes, a vast array of demons had formed in the outpost and out around it, all of them naked and looking over themselves, crying out in wonder or sobbing in relief.

"I'm free! Thank god, I'm free from that horrible place!"

"I never want to go there again!"

"I'll do anything to avoid ending up there! _Anything!"_

"_I will concede that I have no idea what is happening." _VEGA beeped. "_But from what you did prior to this event, it would seem you have summoned all of these demons yourself."_

The Doom Slayer looked down at his gloves again. Much less bloody than before.

"_What are they doing now?"_

The Doom Slayer looked back up at the demons, and noticed that they had all turned their eyes to him, a calm, blue energy swirling in their eyes.

"You freed us."

"You saved us."

"Doom Slayer!"

They began to chant his title, all of them bowing their heads as they lowered themselves on one knee.

"_**Doom Slayer! Doom Slayer! Doom Slayer!"**_

In the corner, Adams adopted the same stance.

"Uh, yeah! Doom Slayer, woo! Go Doom Slayer!"

"What are you doing, Riley?"

"Shut up and get on one knee! Don't question it!"

Unlike before, the Doom Slayer no longer felt a hostile energy from these demons, but rather something resembling what a relationship would be between a commander and his subordinates.

**His soldiers.**

"_I think we may have discovered how you're going to purge this Hell."_


	11. Return of the King

**Chapter 11: Return of the King**

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"DOOM IS UPON US! NOT EVEN HELL IS SAFE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE DEMON SLAYER!"

"WHEN ARE WE GONNA FUCKING STOP THIS GUY?!"

As Charlie, Angel Dust, Husk and Niffty drove back through the streets of the Capital, they were bombarded by pandemonium and chaos.

Cars were overturned and set on fire, protesters marched the streets, holding signs with various phrases written on them.

_END OUR SLAUGHTER_

_OVERTHROW THE OVERLORDS_

_PUT DOWN THE SLAYER_

Every building was either being ransacked, vandalized or barricaded. Demons ran amok, weapons in hand, some of them causing chaos and disorder while others grouped up and went into hiding. Plumes of smoke could be seen in the distance all around the city.

"Sheesh, it's hard to think one guy could get everyone's panties in a knot." Angel Dust muttered, driving the vehicle down the littered street. They passed by a large gathering of Demons wearing the colors of red, black and purple, and a banner with the words 'Hell's Redemption' running down it. One demon in particular was standing on top of a large fountain, screaming at the masses through a megaphone.

"THE LAW OF LUCIFER HAS COME TO AN END!" He shouted. "HE HAS BEEN UNABLE TO STOP THE IMPENDING THREAT OF THE DEMON SLAYER!"

The masses cheered him on.

"WHY DO WE HAVE TO OBEY A WEAK RULER, ONE WHO CAN'T EVEN PROTECT HIS OWN SUBJECTS? NOW IS THE TIME FOR CHANGE, AND WITH IT WE SHALL PUT DOWN THE DEMON SLAYER ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"_**YEEEAAAAAHHHHH!" "DOWN WITH THE MONARCH!" "KILL THE KING!"**_

"_**KILL THE OVERLORDS!" "FUCK BITCHES, MAKE MONEY!"**_

"_**DOWN WITH THE DEMON SLAYER!" **_

"Hey, uh, Charlie, maybe you should duck your head for a little bit…" Angel remarked, looking back at the severely depressed Charlie. He looked up at Husk, who was sitting next to her, clearly uncomfortable, as well as Niffty, who was downcast. "Could you guys, uh…" He gestured at the windows of the vehicle. They nodded and flattened themselves against the windows, concealing any view inside.

They arrived at the front gates to the palace, where a giant crowd with weapons was standing outside, rioting. Several of the royal guards were standing behind the gates with their own weapons brandished.

"Christ, how are we gonna get in now?" Angel muttered. "Maybe if we-"

_Crash!_

A brick suddenly smashed through the front window and fell into the passenger's seat, and a few rioting demons with bandanas and scarves on began beating on the front of the car.

"Get outta there, pretty! I wanna fuck you raw!" One of them shouted.

"Sorry, sweetie, you're gonna have to book in advance!" Angel Dust exclaimed, throwing the car in reverse.

_Pop! Ssssss!_

_Pop! Ssssss!_

"Oh, shit!" Angel muttered, hearing the back tires pop.

"I said, get out of there!"

_Crash!_

The window to Angel's side was smashed through by a lead pipe, and several hands reached through, grabbing at Angel, who began beating at them violently.

"Get your hands off the goods, you horny fucks!"

One hand clawed open the lock on the side door, and immediately the door flew open, and Angel was dragged out, all the while trying to fight back against them.

"Fuck!" Husk muttered, seeing what was going on. "How are we gonna-"

"_**Move."**_

Husk heard a low rasp, looking back to see Charlie in her demonic form. He quickly opened the door and scurried out, terrified of the sight.

_**WHOOMPF!**_

Several of the demons grabbing at Angel looked over to see Charlie standing a few meters away, black wings extended, horns protruding, fanged teeth exposed.

"_**Get off of him."**_

The demons released Angel, who punched one of them in the face.

"Serves you right, ya damn ratbags." He muttered. He noticed Charlie walking towards the front gates. "Wait, what are you-"

The crowd of demons, who were previously focused on rioting, all turned to face Charlie, still in demonic form, walking towards the entrance. A few of them ran towards her, brandishing their weapons.

"KILL THE MONARCHS!" One of them screamed.

_Whoompf!_

The nearest demon to Charlie was thrown by a swipe of her wings, sent flying across the street into a light pole. Another was raked across the entirety of his body by a single swipe of Charlie's claws, and the last one was grabbed by the throat, her grip tightening around it. He choked on his words as she brought him closer, staring him down.

"_I...sorry...please...mercy…"_

She dropped him, and he coughed profusely, holding his throat, as she began walking through the now-parted crowd of demons, all of them silent as they watched her storm into the palace, followed by Angel, Husk and Niffty.

"Princess Charlotte."

"Princess Charlotte."

"Princess Charlotte."

The royal guards bowed their heads and addressed her by her full title, something they had never done before. It only served to piss her off even more.

* * *

The doors to the throne room swung open, and Charlie, along with her entourage, walked in to see three demons standing at the opposite end of the room.

Lilith, Alastor...and Lucifer. All of them grouped in a circle in front of the thrones. All of them turned their heads to Charlie.

"Charlotte!" Lilith exclaimed, crossing the room towards Charlie with a worried look. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Charlie had reverted back to her normal form, though she looked horribly depressed. Lilith noticed this and enveloped her in her embrace.

"What happened, my dear?" She said in a soothing tone. "We've only recently heard about this 'Demon Slayer', and we came back as soon as possible to mitigate the problem."

"Yes," Lucifer said with a calm tone, a wide grin on his face. "We've come back to deal with this threat to the Crown. Pity, too, as I was really enjoying our vacation in Las Vegas. Such a wonderful amount of sin there, and so many potential souls to meet…"

"_Ah, yes, good to see you all." _Alastor said, interjecting in the conversation. "_Many apologies that I didn't join you in what I am sure was a lovely ride back here."_

"Sorry to say, Willy Wonka, but I'm not feelin' spriggy right now, ya dig?" Angel muttered.

"_Ah yes, that whole incident with Vaggie. What an unfortunate outcome. I've already informed the Crown here."_

"Charlotte," Lilith said, releasing Charlie from the hug. "We know you've had a lot on your plate recently. Benny should have told you that it was forbidden to leave the Capital, as per our order, but it seems this didn't come to pass. Please, rest for now, and we shall take the reigns from here. I know you need time to recover."

Without another word, Lilith escorted Charlie out of the throne room, consoling her the whole way. Angel looked back at Alastor, whose smile had disappeared, and Lucifer, who's eyes blazed red as he also exited the room.

"Time to go bring back order." He hissed.

The doors closed behind him, leaving only Angel, Husk, Niffty and Alastor in the throne room.

"...Well, what the fuck happens now?" Angel questioned.

"I'm more depressed than before, I'm gonna go drink." Husk muttered, trudging off to the balcony, followed by Alastor.

"I...I guess I'll go...clean something." Niffty she said dishearteningly, zipping off through one of the many side doors in the throne room.

Angel looked around, seeing that he was by himself, then walked up to Lucifer's throne, climbing the steps, and seating himself atop the throne, crossing his legs and laying his arms on the armrests.

"...This is a pretty nice chair."

* * *

Once more, Husk had the same view over the city as before, though it was no longer beautiful as it had been before.

"Just when I think I could enjoy something about this shithole," Husk muttered. "Something has to come and ruin it."

Taking a swig of his bottle, he looked over at Alastor, who was looking out over the landscape with that same wide smile on his face, his eyes alight with subtle excitement.

"The fuck you grinning for?"

"_Oh, nothing in particular." _Alastor said in a calm tone. "_Things just didn't go how I expected, but they are quite entertaining nonetheless. I'm excited to see what happens from here."_

"Yeah, whatever, you sick fuck." Husk mumbled bitterly, taking another deep swig of his beer. "I'm surprised your soul wasn't sent to the lower levels of Hell. Maybe I'll be able to see the Demon Slayer do that to you before I get blasted."


	12. Encounter With The Slayer

**Chapter 12: Encounter With The Slayer**

To Charlie, life in Hell had become so bleak, so meaningless.

She sat at the window, staring out over a city wrought with paranoia and fear. Her subjects, these beings of such complex feeling and emotion, despite the sins they had committed, had always been redeemable in her eyes. She sought to find the good in everyone and everything.

"_VAGGGIIIEEEEE!"_

It played in her head, on rewind, over and over.

Watching the life drain from her face.

The hand of the Demon Slayer crushing her windpipe.

Her eyes, met with Charlie's, pleading.

_Don't give up._

Charlie didn't feel like doing anything but giving up. As far as she knew it, this was the end of her world. One green armored man was going to bring about the end of everything she loved and held dear to her heart.

And, to escape this fate and situation, she did something that most of those with depression did. She fantasized.

Every day of her life, since her birth, she had heard about 'Earth', about humans, about their cultures and passions and hobbies and lifestyles. She'd been told by her mother that her first word was 'human'.

For as long as she was alive, Charlie was fascinated and in love with the idea of humans, with the world they lived in, everything they did. All she wanted was to have a taste of that here, in Hell. She wanted to turn these endless, hostile wastelands into greenery and forests and mountains. She wanted to see her citizens turn from ruthless, cold-blooded, evil cretins into joyous, passionate, lively beings with goals and aspirations, to see love and happiness blossom throughout this world.

One day, Charlie dreamed of going to Earth and seeing all of the beautiful sights and people, of experiencing the cultures, tasting the food, going to 'concerts' and 'sporting events'. She wanted to frolic in meadows of flowers, climb mountains, explore jungles, and so much more.

Was it too much to ask? To want to reach beyond this pitiful excuse of a world and find something emboldening, bright, and beautiful?

To want...to live?

"_CHARLIE!"_

Charlie yelped in fright as a high-pitched, bleating voice burst the silence of the room. She looked at the window sill to see Razzle, her small, satyr bodyguard. He was shaking and sniffling, looking severely wounded.

"Razzle! What happened?!"

"I...I have to tell you something! I have to!" He bleated. "I saw something out there! It was...it was the Demon Slayer!"

"What?!" Charlie gasped. Before she had run off to Elysium City, she knew that her bodyguards, Razzle and Dazzle, wouldn't let her go without alerting someone of her escape plan, so she sent them on a decoy mission to 'scout out' the wastelands and keep an eye on the Demon Slayer (at a safe distance). "What about him? And where's Dazzle?"

"He...he was shot! He got shot, but...but...he came back to life!"

Charlie didn't comprehend what Razzle was saying.

"Wh...What are you talking about?"

"He turned to dust...then...then he reformed, or something! He came back to life, but-but...he seemed _different!_ He said something about a 'Doom Slayer', then he ran over to the Slayer's army and-"

"Wait, _what? _What do you mean, 'army'?"

"He has an army! The Demon Slayer has an army, and I recognized some of them, Charlie! They were friends, people you knew! There- there was Benny, and-and Hector, and Ruddie and-"

"Hold on!" Charlie said, grabbing Razzle by the shoulders. "Did...did you see...Vaggie?"

"YES!" Razzle shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. "I saw her! She was standing guard at the outpost, and she had a confused expression on her face, and-"

Charlie's hands fell from Razzle in shock.

_Vaggie's...alive?_

"I-I don't know what to think! Dazzle just ran over to the Slayer and just..just bowed! I managed to escape to tell you, but-but I have to go back and-"

"We're going!" Charlie exclaimed, grabbing Razzle, and was about to jump out the window when she hesitated, remembering how much defenses had ramped up, especially with security around her to prevent her from leaving.

"_What's this about an army, darling?"_

Charlie looked back to see Alastor, standing in her room once more, holding the same pose he always had.

"Wha-...I don't know what you mean…" Charlie murmured.

"_Oh, Charlie, do not worry. I am on your side here!" _He exclaimed. "_I helped you out once, I can help you out again. You wish to see this Demon Slayer for yourself, yes?" _

He walked towards the window Charlie was at, peeking outside.

"_If what your satyr is saying is true...then it sounds like you need to go and get Miss Mexicano back to us!"_

He waved his staff slightly, and immediately there were several sounds similar to power outages and fuses blowing up.

"_The security has been disabled. I'd say you have about five minutes before they get here to investigate. Oh, and take this."_ He said as he handed her a black cloak, which she quickly put on.

Charlie's face broke out in a wide grin, and she stepped on the window sill, prepared to get out and find the outpost. She was determined to convince the Demon Slayer this time, even if she had to tear through an army of her own citizens to reason with him.

However, before she jumped out, she looked back at Alastor.

"Why are you helping me, Alastor?"

Alastor's grin widened.

"_Well, Miss Charlotte, unlike many other people, I find your reckless and naive spirit CAPTIVATING to me. You never stop continuing to surprise and entertain me. I haven't felt this excited in months. And of course, why would I want to stop a young princess from doing everything they can to reach their loved one?"_

He gestured to the window.

"_Do what you will, Miss Charlotte. Know that I am cheering you on."_

Charlie smiled, feeling a surge of energy as she felt this encouragement.

"Thank you, Alastor. I owe you so much for this."

With that, she leapt out the window, with Razzle in her hand, and onto the ground below, where she then ran down the street, throwing her hood on. Alastor watched her go, his grin still on his face.

"_Yes, you will be so awfully entertaining for what's to come…"_

* * *

_Vrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm…_

"We're only a few minutes away, I believe." Razzle murmured, still shaking.

Charlie had taken a run-down buggy she'd found on the edge of town, in the abandoned junkyard, and had driven towards where Razzle had said the Demon Slayer's outpost was. It had been a few hours now, and the sight of the Capital had disappeared completely only an hour into the drive.

"Listen, Razzle," Charlie started. "Whatever happens, you _cannot_ attack anyone there, _especially _the Demon Slayer. Got it?"

"But, Charlie, if you're hurt-"

"I'm definitely going to die if you try anything. This man cannot be beat by just the two of us, I can guarantee you that. Just let me handle everything, okay?"

"...Okay."

Charlie nodded, then looked up to see something in the distance. Razzle turned pale white.

"...There it is."

_Skrrch._

Charlie stopped the buggy and peered at what Razzle was referring to. In the distance, it looked as if there was a large amount of construction going on, with a guard tower in place behind a large, fenced-off area. She could see plenty of activity within the area as well, mainly construction.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know, but if we're going to go in, we shouldn't appear sketchy like this."

"You're right. Let's get in there."

"Wait, what?"

Charlie pressed down on the petal and began driving closer to the outpost, much to Razzle's concern and panic.

"Oh, oh no! Oh no! Are you sure about this Charlie?! Are you sure about this?!"

Charlie was silent as she focused on getting closer. She noticed that movement began to become more fervent and quick-paced, and assumed they had seen her vehicle now.

"I'm going to drive close enough that they can see my face, and then I'll get out-"

"CHARLIE!" Razzle screamed, pointing upwards. Charlie looked up-

_**CRASH!**_

Everything had suddenly been thrown sideways in Charlie's vision as the buggy careened sideways, rolling over several times and throwing Charlie out of the vehicle and onto the ground.

Dazed and disoriented, Charlie flipped over, coughing up dust.

_Click._

Charlie froze, hearing the sound of a gun cocking. She didn't dare turn her head up for fear of provoking whoever had the weapon in their hand.

"_It's that demon again."_

Charlie was confused at the sound of a robotic voice beeping, but decided not to comment.

"_Can you understand me, demon?"_

"...Are...are you talking to me?"

"_You are the only demon in this vicinity."_

"Y-Yes! Yes, I can hear you!"

"_But you aren't a soldier in the Slayer's army."_

"Er...no, I'm not, but-"

"_You were at Elysium City. How were you able to speak to the Slayer?"_

"I-I...I don't know."

A moment of silence passed, and Charlie's nerves were on edge. She noticed Razzle in a nearby dune, hiding, watching her. She tried to subtly motion for him to stay down and out of sight.

"_Who is that behind the dune of sand?"_

"W-Wait, don't hurt him! He's, uh, my pet!"

"_Your...pet?"_

"Y-Yeah! He's fun to play with, very cordial, and house-broken!"

"_He'd do well to come out here as friendly as possible, anything else will be met with lead."_

"Okay, I'll tell him to come over!"

She looked up slightly to get a better view of Razzle, motioning for him to come over.

"RAZZLE! COME OUT AND STAND NEXT TO ME!"

Very slowly, and hesitantly, Razzle came around the dune of sand, inching towards her, his hands up as he visibly shook.

"Th-There, see? He's good now."

_Click._

The sound of a gun un-cocking filled Charlie with relief.

"Can...can I turn around to see who I'm speaking with?"

"_You may. Don't try anything. He will not hesitate to eliminate."_

Charlie nodded quickly, and slowly turned around to see the Demon Slayer, standing only a few feet away from her, looking down at her with his shotgun in hand. He seemed a lot taller than before, and his armor had splotches of crimson red all over it, though it didn't seem to be blood. The orange visor was reflected off of the sand, and thus she couldn't see into his helmet and look at his face. The robotic voice seemed to be coming from the Demon Slayer's helmet, but he himself didn't seem to be speaking.

"H-Hello, Mister Demon Slayer."

"_Everyone keeps calling him that, but he is the Doom Slayer."_

"Alright, then. Doom Slayer."

"_You will come with us, so that we can talk more about this whole...situation."_


	13. A Meeting of Great Significance

**Chapter 13: A Meeting of Great Significance**

As Charlie followed the Doom Slayer into the outpost, she felt a shiver run down her spine as she walked by the other demons. Every single one of them had something about them that was off, as if they were different people. Their eyes were alight with blue energy, and they worked fervently at whatever job they were doing, taking only a moment to stare at her before returning to work.

As the gate opened, two Imps immediately ran up to the Doom Slayer, bowing.

"H-Hello, Overlord Slayer!" The male one said, his voice ripe with nervousness.

"_That's a grammatically egregious title." _The robotic voice beeped aloud.

"Ah, y-yes, many...many apologies. Um, now that you're back, d-did you need anything else?"

"_How are preparations of the Assault Vehicles going?"_

"W-Well, about that, sir...erm...most of the..._people_ here don't have a, how you say, _grasp_ of, uh, quantum mechanics, or physics, or electrical engineering, or-"

"_Well, find the ones that do have an understanding of this and make them labor-intensive."_

"...W-Well, by most demons, sir, I, er...I mean none of them."

"_How disappointing. Very well then, we will have to resort to constructing more primitive vehicles and weapons of war. I will map out several blueprints through holograms detailing the construction processes. They will only require the knowledge befitting veteran mechanics, undergraduate college engineers, and ballistics specialists. Surely you have some demons with specializations in those areas?"_

"We, uh, we'll go check on that, Overlord...sir."

"_You do that."_

As they ran back off, Charlie had noticed that their eyes didn't have the same blue energy brimming behind them as the rest of the demons did.

"_Do you have a name?"_

The sudden question threw Charlie off, before she hesitantly answered.

"Er...you can just call me 'Charlie'."

"'_Charlie'. Very well, then."_

The two continued through the camp, passing by several demons at work with various things, from sharpening the edges of rocks for knives and arrows to creating desert-camouflage clothing.

"Man, you're really going...to...war...huh…" Charlie mumbled nervously.

"_We take whatever measures necessary to eliminate all demonic presence, even if it means conducting strategic warfare."_

Charlie was angered by that statement, though she was confused by how he began.

"Wait, 'we'?"

"_I am not the Doom Slayer speaking. My name is VEGA, and I am currently the cybernetic advanced intelligence system working inside the suit of the Doom Slayer to best assist in his endeavor to purge demons."_

"...Okay. Why isn't the 'Doom Slayer' guy inside the suit speaking?"

"_He doesn't ever feel the need to."_

Charlie was put on edge by that statement, and the two continued walking, until eventually they reached a large tent. The Doom Slayer opened a flap, and Charlie walked in behind them, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of several guns and boxes of ammunition.

"Wha- How do you even use all this?!"

"_Transporter buffer. Anyways, this is not important. We will discuss here."_

The Doom Slayer sat on a bench, and for the first time, she saw how he conjured weapons from almost nowhere, reaching into a space in the air where his wrist disappeared, then came back with a double-barreled shotgun. He reloading each weapon, and VEGA began speaking.

"_In order to best execute our next move most productively, I need to elicit as much information from you as is possible on the philosophy of how demons work here, as there is a significant difference in how demons worked from where we came from. Is this another part of Hell? Have you all been reincarnated from humans, or is it only some of you?"_

"Wait, hold on- too many questions." Charlie said. "Erm...can you start over?"

"_Our mission is to eliminate demons, and yet we are not sure if this is the same dimension or not. Thus, to escape Hell and get back to Earth, it seems our main mission is to gather enough information to figure out where we are and how to escape. The answers may rest in this city known as 'The Capital', and we were heading there next after we've gathered enough soldiers to attack. However, after seeing human-like interactions and nuances from a few of these demons, we're holding off on completing this purge until we can understand exactly what type of situation we're dealing with."_

"But they _are_ former humans!" Charlie pleaded. "Yes, they did some bad things in their past lives, maybe even brutal things, but they all deserve redemption, one way or another, or at least the chance to redeem themselves!"

"'_They'? Aren't you a former human, as well?"_

Charlie hesitated to say her next words, as she was fearful that she would be blasted on sight if they heard it.

"I...I was born in Hell. There are other 'true' demons in Hell as well, but they should also get the chance at redemption if-"

"_This is plausible. However, considering my forming theory around our sudden ability to communicate with these demons, it doesn't fit in with the pattern I've discovered."_

"Wh...What do you mean?"

"_Clearly, your personality and actions do not communicate that of the intentions in a demon, at least when considering the parameters of our version of demons. In the UAC's definition of a demon, they are nothing but minions and soldiers that speak with pure violence and abhorrent rituals for the purpose of creating portals to Earth to take it over and wreak havoc. These demons display none of those traits for as long as we've been moving around here, and initially we assumed that the demons were attempting to distort reality to play off of the Doom Slayer's weaknesses by making the demons act as if they were human. That theory doesn't seem to have good evidence, however, considering that everything in this environment has displayed dramatically different behavior. Thus, my only theory is that we have been moved to another dimension of Hell, one that has different principles and types of demons compared to the ones in our original dimension. If we have been transported to a different dimension, then that means there is a way back, and our current mission would be to find it. The best way to gain more information on our situation is by amassing a big enough army of manpower and materials to assist in creating a dimensional portal."_

"...That was a lot to take in." Charlie muttered. "But, if that is the case, then why are you still going after the demons?"

"_To have them join our army, which in turn creates more manpower."_

Charlie was confused thoroughly by that statement.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, 'join your army'?"

"_I should have mentioned. Any demon the Doom Slayer kills will be reincarnated back as an almost-willing servant to the Doom Slayer, who has utilized them efficiently."_

Charlie's eyes widened.

"Ev...Everyone?"

"_It would seem so."_

"Please, I need to request something."

"_What is it?"_

Tears fell from Charlie's eyes.

"Can you...bring someone named 'Vaggie' to the tent, please?"

"_This request is odd, but very well."_

A quick beep went off, and one of two Imps that Charlie saw earlier, the male, came flying through the flaps, bowing.

"Yes, Overlord!"

"_Bring a person named 'Vaggie' to the tent."_

"Yes, Overlord!"

And with that, he was absent from the tent for about a minute, until he came back, huffing in fatigue.

"Here she is, Overlord!"

Charlie was almost in disbelief at the sight. Vaggie, completely reformed, without any injuries and with the same blue energy swirling in her eyes, came through the flaps, kneeling before the Doom Slayer, who was still reloading his weapons.

"What did you need, Doom Slayer?"

"_Now what did you need with her, Charlie?"_

Charlie couldn't move, struck by shock. Vaggie was there, in the flesh. In front of her.

"Vaggie…" Charlie muttered, getting up and walking over towards her, reaching out one finger to touch her, as if terrified she wasn't real.

_Boop._

Tears cascaded down Charlie's face as she embraced Vaggie, sobbing in relief.

"_Vaggie! _Oh thank god, you're alive! I'll never let you leave me again!"

The Doom Slayer stopped reloading, watching the emotional scene before him.

"_If only there was another way."_

Charlie heard VEGA speak up, and looked at the Doom Slayer.

"_This path of eradication is unpleasant to me, especially since these demons display such human behavior, and it's taken a mental toll on the Doom Slayer. We are not slaughterers of the innocent. And yet, if we are to escape from here to get back to Earth, it would seem that this cycle of genocide and resurrection is the only path to take."_

"Wait!" Charlie interrupted. "You said you only kill demons, right?"

"_Yes."_

"Then...what if those demons were...reformed?"

"_...Pardon?"_

* * *

A few minutes passed as Charlie explained the ritual of redemption to the Doom Slayer and VEGA, and the plan she had made to help demons earn redemption through her hotel.

"_This is quite possibly the most laughable idea I have ever processed." _VEGA beeped. "_A 'hotel' for the redemption of demons?"_

"Well, come on." Charlie said. "At least give it a try. If you come to the Capital with me and your army, and you tell everyone that they will be spared from annihilation if they go through redemption at the hotel, then who's gonna protest?"

"_You want them to redeem themselves through fear?"_

"I don't see any other non-violent alternative." Charlie conceded. "So...do we have a deal?"

She hesitantly outstretched her hand for a handshake, putting on a nervous smile. The Doom Slayer stared at her.

"_How can I trust that you are not intent on betraying us when we enter the Capital?"_

"Well, I mean, if you just don't tell everyone that these demons are in your personal army, then...you can still...order like...an ambush?"

The Doom Slayer nodded his head silently.

"_It would seem that the Doom Slayer is trusting you with this idea of yours, but understand that I will be keeping a watchful eye on everything you do, Charlie."_

"Y-Yeah, of course." Charlie muttered. She had been staring into the visor of the Doom Slayer for a bit now, and she only just noticed something different about him.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking...er...you seem to have some...uh…_features_ on your face, Mister Doom Slayer."

Abruptly, the Doom Slayer got up from his seat and walked outside, heading for the pond of water in the middle of the outpost. He got down on his knees and stared into his visor.

"_This is...unprecedented." _VEGA beeped.

The Doom Slayer had taken on significantly demonic features. The sclera in his eyes were jet-black, and his irises were red; some of his teeth had transformed into elongated fangs; Two small bumps were growing on the border between his forehead and hair.

He continued staring into the pond, as if in horror of himself. Charlie stood a few feet away, unsure of what was happening.

"_Please wait outside the outpost, Charlie." _VEGA beeped. "_We will meet up with you shortly."_

"...Alright. If I could ask, could I please take Vaggie with me?"

"_Go ahead."_

Charlie bowed her head, then went back inside the tent, grabbed Vaggie by the hand, and led her to the outside of the outpost.

When they were outside, Charlie turned to Vaggie and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Vaggie! Are you there? What happened to you?!"

"I...what…"

Vaggie's face was full of confusion and fear, as if she had no idea where she was.

"It's okay, Vaggie. I...I'm here now. You're back with me."

"I...there was...I was...in _Hell…_"

"Well, I mean, you're still in Hell, but-"

"They...they were torturing people...dissecting them...putting them on hooks and...and…"

Charlie was deeply concerned by how Vaggie's eyes glazed over as she mumbled about horrific things, shaking her once more.

"Come on, please, just talk to me, Vaggie. You're not down there anymore. You're not in those lower levels anymore."

And yet, she was filled with despair as she watched Vaggie continue to mumble, staring off at nothing, as if in a state of shock. Charlie brought her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Vaggie. I'm so sorry. I'll make everything better, I promise. I promise."


	14. A Way To Redemption, After All

**Chapter 14: A Way To Redemption, After All…**

There it was.

The Capital.

Charlie felt her heart pounding rapidly as she looked to the Doom Slayer next to her and the countless demons walking behind them. The last thing she wanted was for the demons in the Capital to panic and launch an attack on the Doom Slayer, so she got herself ready to present herself to the front gates.

Already, she could see people on the ramparts of the walls panicking as they saw the terrifying sight, and so Charlie unfurled her wings and flew over towards them.

"HOLD ON, ALL OF YOU!" She shouted, waving her arms at the demons on the ramparts, who looked to her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PRINCESS CHARLOTTE?!" One of them shouted. "THE DEMON SLAYER IS HERE! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"No!" Charlie exclaimed. "He is not here to do harm! He wants to negotiate!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SMOKING?!" Another demon shouted. "HAVEN'T YOU SEEN WHAT THIS GUY HAS DONE FIRSTHAND?"

"_**HEY!"**_

The demons were shocked into silence by the Princess' sudden transformation into her true form, and the harsh tone that came with it.

"_**Look at him!" **_She roared, pointing at the Doom Slayer. Everyone's eyes followed.

He had no weapons in his hand, and he was walking as if he were ready to do business with someone. He looked up at them, and all of the demons cowered in fear.

"Are...Are you sure about this, Princess Charlie?!"

"_**Would you prefer annihilation?"**_

The guards went silent, with a few of them taking another look at the Doom Slayer idling below the gates.

"Well, I mean...he isn't giving me the same vibes of merciless slaughter that he did before...maybe…"

"_**LET HIM IN ALREADY!"**_

"O-OKAAY!"

Reluctantly, the demons opened the gates to the city, their eyes glued to the Doom Slayer, who walked through with an almost angry gait.

As he passed through the gate, the demons below, who were unaware of his presence, and immediately he was met with dozens of pairs of eyes.

"Um…" One demon muttered. "Is this a joke?"

Some of the demons walked up to the Doom Slayer nonchalantly.

"Dang, man, that's a nice costume you got there!" One of them said. "Almost looks exactly like the Demon Slayer!"

Charlie was thoroughly confused as to what was going on. She flew down next to the Doom Slayer, looking between him and the demons that had formed around him.

"What...are you guys doing?"

"Just admiring this fantastic costume this demon made!"

"Wha- why do you think he's not the Doom Slayer?"

"Well, I dunno about this 'Doom Slayer' fellow, but you can see behind the visor that the guy is clearly not human- GHK!"

The Doom Slayer had grabbed the demon by the neck and brought him face to face, a low growl emitting from inside the helmet.

"Hey- hey, why are you angry?!"

"_Doom Slayer, I believe these demonic features you've taken on are meant to help you better infiltrate into this demon society." _VEGA beeped. The Doom Slayer continued staring at the demon in his grip, before promptly letting him go. The demon fell to the ground, coughing harshly.

"Jesus...well, you got the same terrifying energy as the Demon Slayer, as well! 10/10, I must say- Hey, where are you going?"

The Doom Slayer stormed through the streets of the town, with more and more people coming out of buildings and alleys to get a look at him. The majority of them wore nervous or tense faces, while others seemed impressed and even delighted, very likely because they didn't think he was the actual Doom Slayer.

Charlie walked alongside the Doom Slayer, occasionally darting her eyes around at all of the demons. She noticed that a large swath of military troops were stalking the Doom Slayer at a distance, and several more were running around them towards the palace, likely to alert Lucifer of this situation.

"Wow...uh...they're taking your presence a lot better than I expected."

"_What are we doing to convince these demons to follow the path of redemption?" _VEGA beeped aloud. "_Surely we're not just marching through this city for intimidation."_

"Well, I was thinking, you know, that _maybe_ we could just find a nice spot in the middle of the city to, like, I dunno...preach?"

"_Preach?"_

"Yeah! As in, like, tell them about your plan and everything. You know, redemption...and stuff."

"_I see. Then you will need to be the authority voice in this matter. If you are royalty, they are very likely to take this compromise seriously rather than dismiss it. After all, you best understand these heathens."_

"That was rude."

"_I wasn't programmed to be polite."_

The Slayer's army was also following close behind, and some of them were being held back by the regular demons.

"Tracy, is that you?!" One of them said in disbelief. "I...I thought you died in Elysium! I saw you die in front of me!"

A growing number of demons started to notice the seemingly deceased demons now walking the streets behind the Slayer.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Another demon questioned.

"Is this some sick fucking joke?"

"How...how is this possible?!"

Eventually, the Slayer's army was being trailed by a vast majority of the residents of the Capital, either out of shock of seeing their friends and loved ones alive again, or out of sheer curiosity of what was going to happen.

Finally, the Slayer reached the peak of a hill that overlooked the majority of the city, with the giant mass of demons surrounding the hill.

"_I have never, not once in my programmed life, been in such an odd situation like this, especially with demons." _VEGA beeped. "_Nonetheless, I am intrigued to see what will ensue. Go ahead and give your speech, Charlie."_

Charlie looked over the gathered masses of demons, all of who were looking up at the Doom Slayer and Charlie.

She took a deep breath, and began to speak. (Begin epic motivational music)

"My fellow demons, we've been faced with a crisis with the likes of which have never been seen before. Just after the most recent extermination, we were attacked once more by a man who came to be known as 'The Demon Slayer'. In just a few short days, everything we've known in Hell has been turned on its head ever since he came along. He killed many of us, and sent us to the horrible lower levels of Hell. We were in fear for our lives, for we knew that there was much worse in store below. But…"

Charlie looked up at the Doom Slayer, who was standing idly, almost menacingly.

"Now, we have not just salvation before us, but an opportunity. An opportunity to better ourselves, an opportunity to make amends with the sins we've committed and the wrong decisions we've made! We have the ability to improve ourselves for the better, and earn everlasting bliss and happiness at the same time!"

She raised her arms.

"We have a chance at redemption!"

Silence. The crowds looked on at her, their eyes widened.

And then, they erupted with laughter.

Pure, raw, unadulterated laughter, cackling and sneering.

"Are you FUCKING KIDDING me?!" One demon shouted out. "Why are you pushing for _this _shit NOW?!"

"We're in the midst of being fucking wiped out from the face of this awful plane, just to get sent somewhere _else!_ And now this dumb bitch of a princess wants to preach to us like the priest that molested me!" Another cackled.

"Goddamnit, I'll tell ya what, this princess is damn good at cracking jokes, I tell ya what!"

As the masses of demons cackled and roared with laughter, as they slapped their knees, palmed their faces, sneered at her, threw insults at her, questioned where her mind was at,

Charlie was filled with rage.

An indescribable, blood-boiling rage that ran through her veins and bubbled in her stomach. She felt years of pent-up resent and frustration pulling at her skin, screaming at these demons.

The Doom Slayer noticed Charlie's hands balling into fists, her knuckles turning white. He noticed her horns growing out, her eyes turning red, her teeth turning into fangs.

"_Oh, boy." _VEGA beeped.

"_**FINE, THEN!" **_

The crowd's laughter suddenly died down as the air around Charlie had suddenly burst into flames.

"_**DIE FOR ALL I CARE! YOU WASTES OF FUCKING SPACE! YOU BOTTOM OF THE BARREL PIECES OF SHIT! YOU CONNIVING, SLY, CLEVER LITTLE DEGENERATES!" **_She roared, her voice having dropped several octaves, as if Lucifer himself were speaking through her.

"_**I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO HELP YOU, TO KEEP YOU SAFE, TO KEEP YOU ALIVE! I WANTED THE BEST FOR YOU, I BELIEVED THAT ANY AND ALL OF YOU PATHETIC LOW LIVES COULD REDEEM YOURSELVES! I SPENT YEARS OF MY FUCKING LIFE DOWN HERE WONDERING WHAT EARTH WAS LIKE, ALL OF THE WONDERS AND BEAUTY THAT I WAS MISSING OUT ON, WHILE MOST OF YOU GOT TO SEE THAT BEAUTY FOR YOURSELF, AND YOU FUCKING SQUANDERED IT! YOU GAVE IT UP FOR SOME PATHETIC EXCUSE TO MURDER AND RAPE AND STEAL!"**_

She pointed one claw at the Doom Slayer.

"_**NOW YOU HAVE A PRESSING REASON TO REPENT YOUR UNDESERVING SOULS, TO REDEEM YOUR HORRIBLE WAYS! IF YOU DON'T REPENT YOURSELF, IF YOU DON'T ACTIVELY DROP YOUR DEMONIC WAYS…"**_

She closed her hand slowly, as if crushing something in her palm.

"_**...THEN YOU WILL DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE DOOM SLAYER, AND I WILL FEEL NOT A DROP OF REMORSE OR PITY FOR YOU! I WARNED YOU ALL, AND I AM BEING SO INFINITELY GRACIOUS TO WARN YOU AGAIN! YOU WILL REPENT, OR YOU WILL SUFFER A HORRIBLE FATE IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF HELL!"**_

"WE DIDN'T GO TO THE LOWER LEVELS OF HELL!"

Everyone's eyes turned to the demon that had spoke up. It was Vaggie. She seemed to be struggling against the energy binding her to the Doom Slayer to speak.

"We...we...didn't go to the lower levels…"

The crowd was deathly silent.

"Wh...What do you mean? Are you saying...you _died_ and came back?" One demon spoke out hesitantly.

"Yes...I died...at the hands...of the Doom Slayer."

"Who the hell is the Doom Slayer."

"THE DEMON SLAYER!"

The crowd gasped. Charlie, wide-eyed, was still hearing the first words from Vaggie reverberate in her head.

"What do you mean...you didn't go to the lower-"

"We didn't go down...there. We went...somewhere...much..._much_...worse…"

Everyone was silent as she continued speaking, although her voice was heavily strained.

"We...went to a different place...a horrible...place...there was...blood...and guts...everywhere...there were..._monsters_...people...being tortured...decorations...of human bowels...hanging cages...bridges made of bones...carcasses lying everywhere...voices...cried out...they sounded like...loved ones...I had..to fight...just to keep...my body...from being taken...by another soul...I had...to survive...every second...it felt like years...years of...pain...and suffering…"

She broke down crying, falling to her knees.

"There...was no...remorse...those demons...they were _real_ demons...my god...I never...want to go...back down there...again…I'll...do...anything..."

Charlie was horrified by Vaggie's description of this place, and so was the crowd, with several of them having disturbed and even terrified expressions on their faces.

And in the silence, a single person was laughing.

The Doom Slayer.

He laughed so loudly that it echoed across the city, resonated in each and every hallway of every building, rang in every open and closed space, from the sewers to the skyscrapers.

And then he stopped, though still everyone's eyes were on him, as if they were shocked by his sudden jubilancy.

"What in the name of myself is going on here?!"

Charlie heard a familiar voice, and looked through the crowds to see her father, accompanied by a heavy personal guard, swaggering through the masses of demons, all of whom bowed to him. He fiddled with his staff and tilted his hat, a grimace on his face.

"Oh? And who have you brought to the center of our city, Charlie?" He mused. "None other than the Demon Slayer himself!"

Upon hearing this statement, several of the demons looked up at the Doom Slayer with abject horror, seemingly having not believed he was the actual person until Lucifer had said it.

"Dad, I can explain-"

"Ah-ba-ba." He shushed her, holding one claw out, as he walked up to the Doom Slayer, who stared down at him. "Well, I'm surprised to see that you aren't rampaging about and killing my denizens. Though I am a bit thankful. We do have an overpopulation problem after all."

The Doom Slayer was silent, continuing to stare down at him.

"Well, you aren't very talkative, huh?" Lucifer prodded. "Maybe I should introduce myself."

He held out one claw, a mischievous smile on his face.

"I am Lucifer, ruler of Hell."

"_Funny joke." _VEGA beeped aloud. Lucifer stepped back in mock surprise.

"Oh, so he _does_ speak! Though I didn't expect you were a _robot!_ After all, you do look like a demon to me."

Charlie flinched, expecting some sort of attack from the Doom Slayer. Surprisingly, however, he remained silent, his visor somehow unable to be seen through at this moment.

"Come on, now. Shake my hand. Don't worry, I know you're probably paranoid of that whole 'deal with the devil' thing, but most of them are over-exaggerated. Most of them."

He outstretched his hand, and the crowd waited, staring at the Doom Slayer.

A moment of silence passed, and Charlie was tense as he wondered what would be happening.

Then,

In just one swift motion,

The Doom Slayer shook his hand.

…

…

…

Lucifer's face paled, the smile dropped from his expression, and his eyes were filled with abject horror as the Doom Slayer held his hand in a vice grip. Lucifer tried to tear away, but was unable to as the Doom Slayer continued to hold his grip.

"_**NO! NO! GET ME OUT OF THIS!" **_Lucifer screeched, his eyes clouded over, his features turning into various types of demonic imagery. The landscape in and around the city warped and twisted, as if congruent with whatever type of endeavor Lucifer was enduring. He continued trying to pull away, turning into various forms of animals and demons to try and slip out of the Doom Slayer's grasp, but none worked, as the Doom Slayer only tightened his grip with each transformation.

The skies turned grey, then black, with wild and violent thunderstorms raging overhead. The crowd of demons yelled and screamed in fear, cowering against the ground.

And then, in just one instant,

The Doom Slayer released his grip.

Lucifer bolted, tripping and stumbling as he ran screaming and wailing away from the Doom Slayer.

"_**WHAT IS HE?! WHAT IS HE?! GET HIM AWAY! GET HIM AWAY!"**_

Silence.

Everyone looked to the Doom Slayer.

Then his army got onto one knee and bowed their heads. The other demons saw this, and immediately followed suit. The masses of demons before him all knelt before him, bowing their heads.

Charlie was torn between shock at seeing her fearless father running off screaming, relief at seeing the demons finally comply, and trepidation as she looked over once more at the Doom Slayer.

"_WILL YOU ALL REPENT?" _VEGA beeped, his voice projecting loudly, as if through a megaphone.

"_**YES, DOOM SLAYER!"**_

Charlie was both in awe and embittered by all of this. She was relieved that she had finally, after all this time, found a solution to redemption for all of the demons...but…

_Will this really be redemption? _Charlie thought sorrowfully. _If they are only doing it through fear?_

She noticed the Doom Slayer turn towards her.

"_Where did you say this 'hotel' of yours was?" _VEGA beeped.


	15. IN THE FIRST AGE

**Chapter 15: IN THE FIRST AGE…**

"_What an awfully boring conclusion to the epic battle between the Doom Slayer and these demons."_

Alastor paced around the outskirts of Hell, where not a single soul lingered. It was his favorite spot to think, as it was void of any distractions, be it living or not.

"_I was so expectant that a variety of unfortunate events (for Hell, that is) were to come to fruition through my aid. I was excited to see a GORE FEST ensue, for these pitiful excuses of demons to be wiped from this plane of existence. I set SO MANY traps for them all to fall into! And yet, somehow, we've reached this compromise that didn't end in the slaughter of everyone and everything! How pathetic…"_

Alastor looked to Lucifer, who was quick at work on the giant invention laid out before him.

"_And you, Lucifer…" _Alastor said with a sneering undertone. "_I expected many fierce demons to fall to fear when it came to the Doom Slayer, but YOU?"_

He shook his head in shame.

"_You've lost all respect of your subordinates, and from myself as well. Hell, I almost LOOKED UP to you! What in the blazes happened?!"_

Lucifer continued intently at his work, his eyes dilated and shaking.

"Shut up, you blabbering fiend." He muttered, his voice quivering with fear. "That _man _is the _real_ devil! If we don't put a stop to him, he will...he…"

"_He'll WHAT, Lucifer?" _Alastor mocked him, waving his staff around. "_Blast your head off? Tear you apart? You've witnessed every kind of torture, every kind of evil, every kind of horror and degeneracy and despicable act that humanity has had to offer! What could he POSSIBLY have in store that could be worse than what you have already encountered?"_

"_**SUFFERING!" **_Lucifer screeched at him, revealing his true form for a moment, which almost unnerved Alastor. He couldn't describe exactly what Lucifer's true form looked like, but the imagery was something that resembled the most personalized terrifying things to him.

"Suffering, you shit!" Lucifer spat at him. "Eternal torture and suffering! I am the _ruler _of Hell! I impose the sentences, I deliver punishment upon these degenerates! I have such insurmountable bastions of power at my fingertips, and yet, when I shook that man's hand...I felt _powerless. _I felt that, if he were left unchecked, he would slaughter every demon in existence. I felt his unending rage, his dogmatic desire to kill and slaughter demons, his terrible power and undying determination. I knew that, when the time came, he would subject _me_, the ruler of all demons, to the worst and most prolonged torture and agony that can be found. And no matter what I threw at him, no matter what obstacles I put in his way... I would be unable to stop him."

Alastor was taken aback by that sentiment. Coming from Lucifer, whom he had known for some time now as the incarnation of terror, this was in no way a light statement.

"_Well, nonetheless…" _Alastor continued, looking up at the great structure before him. It was monstrous in size, over fifty meters tall, with an archway through the middle that suggested a gateway. His little minions were working on construction of the beast. Alastor's face contorted into a menacing grin.

"_I think it's about time we spice things up."_

* * *

"Come one, come all, come and get your free pass to redemption!"

Niffty handed out gift-wrapped bags of various small items to each demon that entered into her hotel, most of them wearing reluctant and miserable expressions on their face. It quickly changed to fearful compliance when the Doom Slayer began to reload his shotgun, standing only a few meters away from the long line of demons entering the hotel.

Charlie skipped over merrily to the Doom Slayer as he was staring at the line of demons.

"This is AWESOME!" She squealed, her eyes dazzling as she looked at the display. "Finally, my dreams are coming true, and finally, I can help these souls once and for all!"

She looked up at the Doom Slayer, and tilted her head in curiosity.

"Wow, you changed a lot. Where'd your horns go? And your red eyes? And the stains on your armor?"

"_It was purely for decoration." _VEGA beeped outwardly. "_I had only then noticed his change in appearance at the pond, but I quickly dismissed my fears. After all, my sensors did not go off about a nearby demonic presence when he adopted these features."_

"Wait, what about his 'aura' and everything?"

"_Likely something that came with the power coupled with resurrecting demons for his own army. To be a leader, one must have a charismatic aura to them. The Doom Slayer, on the other hand...doesn't have that charisma, especially not for demons. The important conclusion is that the Doom Slayer was never in any danger of becoming a demon. In fact, I don't believe it's possible for him to become one in the first place, and in fact I think that, if it weren't the Doom Slayer, any other person who had adopted this power would have likely turned into a demon themselves."_

Charlie scratched her head, somewhat confused by what VEGA was saying.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. But also, what did you do with the demons under your command?"

"_We released them from the binding spell on the Doom Slayer, which is probably why the Doom Slayer's features returned to normal."_

"'Normal'? That hurts." Charlie mumbled, but nonetheless she was happy.

"_In the meanwhile, once these demons have gone into this 'hotel', the Doom Slayer and I will be looking for an entry out of this world…"_

Charlie nodded, looking up at the hotel sign.

_Hazbin Hotel_

"You know...I know that you killed a lot of demons and you were kind of a terrifying monster for a while, but...I'm happy that you showed up. Now, there won't need to be anymore mass genocide. All I have to do now is find a way to contact the Exterminators and tell them that- huh? Oh, he left."

Charlie watched as the Doom Slayer ran towards the north end of the city at ridiculous speeds.

"Damn it, I didn't get to talk to him!" Angel Dust said as he came out from the hotel. "I was too busy directin' people to their rooms and shit. Oh, well."

"He's likely not going to be saying much." Charlie said. "He never spoke a word to me, but there was a little computer thing in the suit that spoke to me instead."

"Wait, really? That's disappointing. I guess he can't talk dirty to me then~. What a shame."

The two watched as the Slayer zoomed off into the distance for a moment.

"Hey, how is...how is Vaggie doing?" Charlie asked hesitantly. Angel Dust sighed.

"She's doing better than before, but I could see the trauma in her eyes. I don't think she's going to be functional anytime soon, but...let's hope for the best, ya know?"

"Yeah." Charlie muttered.

…

…

…

"Wait, where is he going?" Angel inquired, squinting to see the Doom Slayer running. "Jesus, he runs fast."

"I don't know." Charlie responded simply. "Maybe he's checking something out?"

"Well, he seems in quite the hurry…"

* * *

The project was complete.

Alastor marveled over the grand invention before him. He knew it wouldn't have been possible if he didn't grab a few of the possessed demons from the Slayer's army during the whole event that had went down at the Capital only a few days ago. Just a few empty threats of being returned to this 'horrible place' they rambled on about, and they were willing to talk.

"The gateway is ready, boss!"

Alastor gave a thumbs up to one of his henchmen, then turned his attention back to the gateway. The possessed demons had ranted on about a 'tether' that had been attached to them when they were resurrected, and Alastor had spent a lot of time and effort into researching this 'tether', to find a way to access this dimension. He had Lucifer slow down time in this area so that he could spend months upon months of research and work, with his henchmen building the gateway the entire time. He had gone to the original crash site of the Doom Slayer and studied the area, looking for artifacts and information that could help him, and he had found plenty. By the time that Lucifer had resumed the passage of time to its normal march, it had only been a few days. And all of the wonderful things he had learned in the meantime.

Argent Energy. A separate planet called the 'Argent D'Nur', and all of its most recent history involving some group called the Night Sentinels. He had learned of how Earth, from an alternate universe, hundreds of years ahead of modern day, had gone to Mars, had discovered this power, had established a base with a man by the name of Samuel Hayden leading the research.

And now, Alastor had brought it all together.

"_I should have pursued a career in some scientific field when I was alive." _Alastor muttered to himself. "_This was far more entertaining than any number of conflicts. Nonetheless…"_

He waved his staff around, beginning the ritual to open the gateway. He looked at his henchmen, who had set up the 'gore nests' that had been outlined in the scriptures he had found, courtesy of an embittered imp named Blitzo, who was woefully affected by the deaths of some random friends of his, and was more than willing to lend a very useful book after being told by Alastor how he could bring down the Doom Slayer.

"_Oh, those poor souls." _Alastor mocked as he gazed upon the gore nests, assembled from a variety of unwilling human sacrifices. "_But what wonderful entertainment your passing will provide!"_

He began to wave his staff, conjuring up the portal's entry into this dimension, as his henchmen formed circles around the gore nests and began to bow before them, raising their torsos up and down to 'worship' the gruesome idols.

_**GGGGGRRRRNRNNNNNNNNNRNRNRNRNNNNNNRNNRNNNNNNNN-**_

A spark, then the sound of grinding, the grinding of dimensions budding with each other. Alastor continued waving his staff, chanting the unholy words of ritual.

_**GGTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK-**_

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"**_

As the portal widened, the sound of cracking emanated from all around, as if the air itself were breaking apart. Screams of agony and terror broke out from the crevice of the portal, accompanied by the sound of demonic cackling.

"_Yes! YES! MARVELOUS!" _Alastor shouted in euphoria. "_COME UNTO THIS PLANE, MY WONDERFUL TOOLS OF ENTERTAINMENT! WREAK HAVOC AND CHAOS, AND AMUSE ME-"_

Alastor suddenly felt wrong. He felt...alien.

His skin began to bubble, he began to bleed out of every orifice, his mind was unsettled. He began to panic, wondering what was happening.

"_**Y-O-U, W-H-O S-U-M-M-O-N M-E, D-A-R-E T-O S-P-E-A-K W-I-T-H S-U-C-H C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T."**_

Alastor screamed in pain as it felt like his insides were a torrent of acid and explosives. His skin was filling with blisters and searing off, and his face was peeling away to the bone.

The portal continued to widen, and Lucifer, having seen what happened to Alastor, began to back away slowly.

"_**W-H-E-R-E D-O Y-O-U T-H-I-N-K Y-O-U-'-R-E G-O-I-N-G, F-A-L-S-E I-D-O-L?"**_

In horror, Lucifer watched as a monstrously large skull of a goat began to push out from the crevice that formed in the portal. It was a horrific sight, and it evoked every emotion in Lucifer at the same time. Lust, wrath, pride, horror, terror. All of those and more flew through his mind, encapsulated his body.

"_**Y-O-U S-T-E-A-L T-H-E T-I-T-L-E B-E-F-I-T-T-I-N-G O-F T-H-E R-U-L-E-R O-F H-E-L-L, W-I-T-H S-U-C-H P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C P-O-W-E-R."**_

Lucifer tried to resist, pushing against the frozen state, trying to evoke every attack he could against the skull. Nothing happened. He heard a bellow of deep, unsettling laughter echo through his mind, reverberating in his skull mockingly.

"_**F-O-O-L-I-S-H. T-H-I-S I-S M-Y D-O-M-A-I-N N-O-W, F-O-R Y-O-U H-A-T-H S-U-M-M-O-N-E-D M-E T-O I-T. I W-I-L-L C-O-N-Q-U-E-R T-H-I-S R-E-A-L-M A-S I H-A-V-E A-L-L B-E-F-O-R-E. B-O-W B-E-F-O-R-E M-E."**_

With no will of his own, Lucifer felt his knees bend and his head bow. He could barely look over to notice Alastor doing the same, still screaming from the pain he was undergoing. The sounds of demons cackling and screeching emitted from the gateway, and Lucifer felt a deep fear instilled in him, as if he had messed with something that should have never come his way.

"PLEASE!" He begged, realizing what he had done all of this for in the first place. "KILL THE DOOM SLAYER!"

"_**H-E S-H-A-L-L B-E L-O-C-K-E-D A-W-A-Y O-N-C-E M-O-R-E, A-N-D T-H-I-S T-I-M-E W-I-T-H-O-U-T E-S-C-A-P-E!"**_

"_**RRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

Lucifer's head was forced up, and he watched as countless demons, unlike anything Lucifer had ever seen, spilled out of the portal and onto the ground, with the goat's skull emerging more and more out of the gateway as it widened.

"_**I **_

_**A**_

_**M **_

_**R**_

_**E**_

_**B**_

_**O**_

_**R**_

_**N."**_


	16. IN THE FIRST BATTLE

**Chapter 16: IN THE FIRST BATTLE...**

"_There is a large movement of demons coming up on the north gate." _VEGA beeped into the Doom Slayer's ear. "_Might just be migrating demons from other cities, but it is better to be safe than sorry."_

The Doom Slayer rocketed through the streets, breaking the pavement and concrete below with every step. The streets were clear of any residents, as all of them had gone to the hotel for redemption.

"_Odd...these signals are reading more harshly than with this world's demons. I would advise extreme caution against whatever may be encountered, Doom Slayer-"_

_**REEEEAAAUUUGGGHHH!**_

THEY ARE HERE.

The Doom Slayer vaulted over the walls of the city, staring down at the hordes upon hordes of the demons he had come to know from his world, climbing up the bannisters and pounding against the gates.

ROTTED SOULS OF HELL.

His rage, which had been benign for the days he had spent after the attack on Elysium City, flared up a hundredfold, coursing through the Slayer's veins as he came crashing down into the mob of various demons.

_**CRACK!**_

_**CRUNCH!**_

_**BOOOM!**_

The first unfortunate demon, who happened to be an Imp, was immediately turned into paste as the Doom Slayer landed on it, and without delay he began tearing through the demons with fervor and a renewed rage.

"_How did they come about? Surely, someone must have summoned them." _VEGA beeped as the Doom Slayer continued slaughtering the masses of demons.

_**BANG!**_

_**BLAM!**_

_**CRACK!**_

"_Except that the power, technology and intelligence that it would take to open a portal to that Hell would have to be phenomenal, equal to the level of Argent energy...this is likely the work of Lucifer."_

It mattered not what insidious forces brought these demons to this place, the Doom Slayer was determined to put a violent end to it.

_**BLAM!**_

Just as an Imp thought it had snuck up on the Slayer and pounced, its head was instantly blown off by an outstretched shotgun, which was then used to crack another demon across the face before being shoved into its mouth as the Slayer pulled the trigger.

_**BLAM!**_

The Slayer began reloading as he sprinted and jumped around the area in front of the Capital, dodging and weaving the bullets, beams and bolts that many of these demons had in store for him, launching all they could as they tried to match his agility.

They failed.

_**BANG!**_

The Doom Slayer turned up to see one of the friendly demon soldiers, Seymour, firing his rifle at the hordes of demons, aiming down the sights. Several of his bullets tore through the unarmored demons, though most of them pinged off of the several armored demons chasing the Doom Slayer. A few demons began to turn their attention to the rifleman, who wore an expression of horror as he was faced with the monstrous things in front of him.

"What the fuck are those things?!" He shouted in terror, continuing to fire wildly at the hordes, some of which began to start climbing up the walls. The Doom Slayer pulled out the LMG and attached the mini-rocket attachment, waiting for the attachment to unsheath the rockets.

_Trink-Trink-Trink!_

"_I'D ADVISE YOU BACK OFF THE WALL FOR A MOMENT!" _VEGA beeped through a built-in amplifier, trying to reach his voice to Seymour, who quickly nodded his head and ducked below cover as the Doom Slayer aimed at the demons climbing the wall.

_Pew-Pew-Pew-Pew-Pew-_

A constant stream of mini-rockets launched out of the carrier and towards the wall, where a few demons turned back to look at the source of the sound.

_Wheeee-_

_**BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM!**_

_**BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOM-BOOM!**_

_**BOOOOM-BOOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!**_

The rockets exploded against the wall, annihilating the demons climbing up and leaving gaping holes in the walls of the city.

"WHOO, FUCK YEAH!" Seymour exclaimed, cheering wildly. "TRY KILLING THIS GUY, YOU FUCKIN' WON'T, BITCHES! WHOO! HE'S GONNA FUCK ALL OF YOUR SHIT UP!"

"_**REEEEAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!"**_

Seymour cowered as he heard the terrifying roar, and looked to see a monstrously tall, buff demon charging towards the Doom Slayer, seemingly without any eye holes.

"DOOM SLAYER, LOOK OUT!" He shouted.

As if hearing him, the Doom Slayer pulled out his chainsaw, launched several feet into the air and aimed the end of his chainsaw downwards at the charging demon.

_**VRRRRRRRRRTTTTT!**_

_**SSCCHCHHHKKKKKKKKKK!**_

The demon's body shook wildly as the end of the chainsaw came down on its head, turning its insides to mush as the Slayer landed on its right shoulder and kicked the handle of the chainsaw, causing the chainsaw to rip through the left shoulder of the demon, before grabbing it, hopping off of the Hell Knight and bringing the chainsaw down through the middle of the demon, sending its bloody contents streaming all over the battlefield. The surrounding demons were so shocked and intimidated by the sight that they took a moment to witness the horrific display of sheer brutality.

As the Doom Slayer ripped the chainsaw from the mutilated mesh of flesh and bones from the now-eviscerated Hell Knight, he turned his visor to find the next nearest opponent.

_**BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!**_

_**BANG! BANG-BANG! BANG!**_

_**BOOM! BRRRT-BRRT-BRRRT!**_

The hordes were suddenly being cut down left and right as a hail of bullets smashed into them, cutting down several demons within seconds. The Doom Slayer looked up to see Seymour, now accompanied by dozens of other soldiers firing upon the hordes.

"_They were your subordinates before. Now they are your allies." _VEGA beeped in his ear. "_They are no demons."_

As if being routed, the demons began to retreat from the battlefield, though not without being slaughtered nearly to the last being as the Doom Slayer intended to finish his work, driving his chainsaw through multiple Imps and Possessed as the last remnants of the attempted attack ran over the horizon. The Doom Slayer watched them go as they ran over the horizon, holding the severed head of an Imp with its spine still attached with one hand. He noticed that all of the demon's bodies had broken down and turned to dust, as they had before in the UAC base.

"_This is not good." _VEGA beeped.

"What the fuck was that?!"

The Doom Slayer turned around to see Charlie and a few other people he wasn't familiar with run up to him, weapons in hand. The taller one, seemingly a cross-dresser, peered out at the retreating demons.

"Damn, the battle's already over? That's a shame."

"What happened here?" Charlie asked nervously, just now noticing how the area was stained with blood, though no bodies were present.

"_The Doom Slayer's world of demons have been summoned here." _VEGA beeped aloud. "_Someone brought them here. I sense a deeply malicious presence somewhere in this world, one that is radiating extremely powerful bursts of energy."_

"Summoned?! What do you…"

Charlie's sentence wandered off as she began to think. She already had an idea in mind for who might have summoned them, but she was hoping deeply to herself that she was wrong.

"_Whoever summoned these demons would have to gain a deep understanding of what they were dealing with, and still carry it out. It means they did this for a selfish reason. Just the same as the UAC." _VEGA beeped. "_And just like the UAC, I have no doubt that the summoner is deeply regretting it now."_

"Well, what now?" Charlie inquired. "Did you beat them? They look like they're retreating. Was that all of them?"

"_No." _VEGA beeped. "_That was a mere skirmish."_

"What?!" Cried Seymour, who had come down from the ramparts to see the aftermath. "There's _no _way that just 'a skirmish'. There were _hundreds_, if not _thousands _of demons that the Doom Slayer fought with just now!"

"_There are far more of those things awaiting us, and more keep spilling out of the opened portal every second." _VEGA beeped.

"So what was the point of that attack just now?" Charlie mumbled, a chill crawling up her spine as the dark clouds overhead seemed to thicken ominously.

"_That was a scouting party." _VEGA beeped. "_And they're going back to report where we are."_


	17. WHEN THE SHADOWS FIRST LENGTHENED

**Chapter 17: WHEN THE SHADOWS FIRST LENGTHENED...**

_**VvvvvvvvvvvVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmm….**_

Seymour was getting really fucking tired of that siren.

"_Citizens, please make your way to the South exit of the Capital, there are plenty of military transport vehicles for your evacuation. Citizens, please make your way to..." _

The speakers across the city continued to relay the message as the demons nearly trampled over each other, screaming in terror and running to the south end of the city.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY LEGO MILLENIUM FALCON?!"

Seymour sighed in frustration as he nonchalantly walked through the crowds of screaming demons, tromping down the street dejectedly.

"All this fuckin' time, and I haven't been promoted once. Fuck, I haven't even been given a _raise."_

Meanwhile, the Doom Slayer, Charlie and her entourage surrounded the table in the War Room of the palace.

"So, you're telling me," Angel started. "That there is an entire _dimension _of creepy crawlies as fuckin' scary as this guy?" He pointed at the Doom Slayer, who was busy inspecting his weaponry as he sat on a bench.

"Yes." Charlie responded. "And now, according to VEGA, we have to close the portal they used to get here, or they'll just keep flooding through."

She turned to the Doom Slayer.

"VEGA, didn't you say that this happened on some research colony on another planet? How did they fight against the demons?"

"_They didn't." _VEGA beeped. "_Well, to correct myself, they TRIED fight back, but they ended up getting slaughtered."_

"...Oh."

"So what you're telling me is that we're all going to get horribly killed." Grumbled Husk, who for once did not have a bottle of alcohol in his hand. His eyes scanned over the giant map of Hell on the war room table. "Jesus...is this the entirety of Hell? And the Capital is that little dot on the map?"

He pointed to a dot on the map, which was labeled 'The Capital'.

"Only what has been transcribed to a map." Charlie said. "There's parts of Hell that haven't been explored or chartered yet-"

"Cool, nobody cares about the lore behind this shitty dump." Angel interrupted. "_What's the game plan?"_

Charlie rubbed her chin, thinking profusely.

"Well, first we have to find the source of the portal, what region it might be in. Once we locate it, then we'll likely have to go through a bunch of those demons to reach the portal, then we'll have to _figure out _how to close it-"

"_Don't worry about that part." _VEGA beeped. "_The Doom Slayer has that handled."_

"...Okay. And I have a haunting feeling there's going to be something _really _bad waiting for us at the portal."

"Life imitates adventuring games, I suppose." Angel remarked.

"Wow, that's a big hole in the sky!"

Everyone turned towards Niffty, who was leaning out of the open window overlooking the city and peering at something in the sky.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie inquired, walking over to Niffty.

"Look."

Niffty pointed, and Charlie followed it to the-

"Holy…"

Swirling in the sky near the capital was a dark-red, ominous-looking hole, which looked as if it were going to send something through it. Not a moment later, this proved true, as several loud crackling sounds echoed across the landscape, and Charlie could just barely see a mass of small dots falling out of the hole and onto the desert-like landscape below.

"Doom Slayer!" She called immediately. "We might have more of those demons-"

_**CRASH!**_

Charlie reared back in shock as the Doom Slayer suddenly catapulted through the open window, completely shattering the glass in the process as he hurled down towards the roof of one of the buildings. He landed on it, sending cracks across it, and immediately began hopping from building to building to reach the group of creatures that had just been spit out of that swirling portal.

"Fuck the police, now _that _is what a first responder looks like."

* * *

"_Oddly enough, my scanners are not receiving any demonic presence from the area we're heading towards, Doom Slayer." _VEGA beeped. "_You should exercise caution, considering that this portal is likely linked to the other portal opening in some way."_

The Doom Slayer finally reached the wall, hopping onto the rampart from another building. He propelled himself off of the balustrade, his eyes trained on the mass of silhouettes on the ground far below him. One particularly tall silhouette caught his eye as he came plummeting down into the sand.

"_That cannot be." _VEGA beeped, sounding incredulous. "_Is that-"_

**A DEAD MAN.**

_**THUNK!**_

The Doom Slayer slammed into the dunes, sending sand flying explosively in every direction. He wasted no time storming towards the group, whom he had now identified to be agents of the UAC. He cocked his shotgun as he focused on the man that had tried to lock him away for so long, seeing him rise up out of the sand, his hulking, mechanical mass covered in sand.

"_Oh my god," _The robotic voice muttered in a mixture of disbelief and dread. "_You've got to be fucking kidding me-"_

_**CRACK!**_

The Doom Slayer landed a solid kick into Hayden's metal frame, sending the mechanoid flying backwards into the sand. The UAC personnel that were standing around him nearly shat their pants as they watched the 6-foot man launch a 10-foot machine across the field.

"Holy shit, that's the Doom Slayer!" One of them said, quivering in his combat boots.

After hearing that statement and seeing the Doom Slayer menacingly stomp towards their boss, none except one dared to step in his path, pointing his rifle at the Doom Slayer.

"S-Stay back-"

The Doom Slayer grabbed the front of his gun, wrenched it out of his hands, and broke it in two, before shoving the UAC marine out of the way, his rage focused entirely on the recovering mechanoid in the sand.

"_This is not the time to be fighting." _Hayden said as he climbed up from the sand. "_Hear me out-"_

_**BLAM!**_

Slugs ricocheted off Hayden's head, followed quickly by a dropkick from the Doom Slayer into Hayden's chest, which sent him flying even further backwards than before.

"He's a monster…" One of the UAC soldiers muttered.

"He sure is, I bet he's also got a monster hiding under that suit of his."

The UAC soldier jumped in fright as he heard another voice behind him, and turned to see a tall, humanoid figure with four arms and a mischievous smile.

"What ya lookin' at, hun? Somethin' you desire?" The humanoid said as he pressed the fur on the front of his chest together. The UAC soldier had no way to respond.

"Erm, sorry about my friend here."

The soldier's head turned towards a shorter, female-looking humanoid, wearing suspenders, a white shirt and brown trousers fit with black dress shoes.

"What the fuck is this place?" He muttered.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself." The female piped up. "Well, for starters, you're in Hell."

* * *

"_Goddamn it, cease this fighting! We have more important matters!" _Hayden shouted as bullets ricocheted off of his body. The Doom Slayer stormed towards him, taking out the plasma rifle and aiming it. Hayden sighed in frustration, reaching behind him into a hidden compartment in his body and pulling out a very familiar-looking dagger-like sword handle. "_If you don't cease your attacks…"_

_**VRRRSH.**_

The Crucible was alight, and the Argent Energy formed into a blade with a double-sided hooked end. Hayden readied himself against the Doom Slayer, who had stopped in his tracks.

"_Doom Slayer," _VEGA beeped. "_Maybe we should consider hearing him out-"_

The Doom Slayer launched himself forward, chainsaw in hand. Hayden predicted that by the way the Doom Slayer had scrunched himself down, he was planning to dive under his swing and hack off his legs, and so he decided to feint a horizontal swing.

**WRONG CALL.**

Hayden was shocked when the Doom Slayer, at the last second of seeming as if he were going to dive for Hayden's legs, used one boot to push himself off the ground, propelling over Hayden's sword swinging his chainsaw towards Hayden's head.

_**CRRRCK!**_

Hayden stumbled backwards as the edge of the chainsaw glanced off the side of his metal-framed head, leaving a noticeable gash. He grunted in frustration, turning around and swinging his sword down at the recovering Doom Slayer, and was further surprised when the Doom Slayer rolled to the side, leaving Hayden's sword to plunge into the sand.

"_We are wasting time here," _Hayden said, standing up straight and peering at the Doom Slayer. "_Put aside the selfish wrath so we can-"_

_**CRACK!**_

The Doom Slayer dived forward, punching Hayden in the mid-chest and grabbing his sword hand, attempting to disarm him. Hayden used his other hand and smacked the Doom Slayer away, his grip tightening around the Crucible.

"_Such an ape!" _Hayden shouted in anger. "_I haven't a clue how I was able to work with such a mindless beast like you!"_

He moved forward, launching swing after swing at the Doom Slayer, who was dodging and weaving each flurry.

_**CRACK!**_

Hayden's fury grew with every punch the Doom Slayer landed on him, increasing the speed of his attacks on the Doom Slayer.

"_I will NOT be undermined by a parasite that almost set humanity back to its primitive age!"_

_**SHRRV!**_

The edge of Argent energy blade sliced through the front of the Doom Slayer, cutting through the armor and cutting slightly through his skin. The Doom Slayer kicked Hayden back and walked backwards, looking down at the long cut through his armor and exposing the bleeding cut. The armor quickly regenerated, as did his skin, and the two combatants stood across from each other.

"_Maybe you will listen to reason," _Hayden hissed. "_Now that you've had a painful jolt back to reality."_

The Doom Slayer reached into the dimensional pocket and pulled out another weapon, one which Hayden dreaded to see as he realized he would be on the receiving end of it.

"_Wait, Doom Slayer-" _Hayden said, raising one hand in pleading. "_You cannot destroy me!"_

_BrrrrRRRRR-_

The orb in the center of the BFG lit up bright-green as the Doom Slayer began to pull back the trigger.

"_YOU NEED ME TO DEFEAT THE WORST DEMON THAT CAME THROUGH THE PORTAL!"_

The weapon powered down as the Doom Slayer took his finger off the trigger.

"'_The worst demon'? What are you referring to?" _VEGA beeped aloud.

"_There is a leader behind the demons coming in through the opened portal." _Hayden said. "_When the Doom Slayer purged the Kadingir Sanctum of demons, as well as the UAC, we began to recover in our efforts after the Doom Slayer killed the spider mastermind. However, we had planted several detectors around the Kadingir Sanctum that estimated the volume of demons in the region over time. Only a few days after being planted, the volume of demons had gone down drastically, as well as an especially powerful radar reading that was active in one part of the Sanctum, spiked for a few moments, then died down. I concluded that a leader of these demons assisted in helping the demons get through the portal, and likely emitted some power to open it from the other side."_

"_That theory is reaching quite a bit." _VEGA beeped. "_But how does it justify keeping you alive?"_

Hayden swept his hand over the large swath of UAC soldiers, scientists and engineers behind him.

"_The UAC are loyal solely to me, and they can provide plenty of help in the fight against these demons. Considering the circumstances, I'd say that a war has essentially begun, and you will need all of the help you can get. I, myself, can provide an abundance of information on these demons, Argent Energy, and a vast array of knowledge in areas of physics, quantum mechanics, and-"_

"Sheesh, buddy, what's with the resume?" Angel remarked off to the side. Hayden turned his singular, blue, glowing beam-eye towards Angel, who looked off to the side.

"_How did you manage to get here, Samuel Hayden?" _VEGA suddenly beeped. "_Considering the last time we saw you was when you pushed the Doom Slayer into a portal that eventually sent us to this place."_

"_I am as perplexed as you are." _Hayden responded. "_I was in the midst of working on reconstruction of the UAC when I felt consciousness fail me. The only thing I remember is waking up in the middle of this place."_

Charlie, who was confused by the whole encounter, had noticed that the creatures, who vaguely resembled demons in body shape, were crowded behind and around Samuel Hayden, several of them equipped with armor and having picked up their rifles and readied them. Their eyes darted between the Doom Slayer and his entourage of demons.

"Who are those guys?" Charlie asked the nearly 10-foot tall mechanoid, pointing at the creatures huddled behind him. Hayden looked down at his entourage.

"_Shoulder your rifles, there doesn't seem to be any present danger, currently."_

The UAC riflemen hesitated before slinging their rifles around a shoulder, though they never took their eyes off the demons nor the Doom Slayer. Hayden looked back up at Charlie.

"_I've no clue who you are, thus I don't feel pressed to answer your question."_

"Oh." Charlie muttered. "Well, I am Charlie, royal princess of Hell."

"_...Pardon?"_

Charlie scratched her head, realizing that the mechanoid and all of the creatures behind it likely didn't know where they were.

"Well, currently, you're in Hell."

Hayden looked to the Doom Slayer, who had sheathed his weapons.

"_What is this humanoid trying to say?" _Hayden asked, directing the question towards VEGA.

"_From the signs I've been getting from the residents of this dimension, they are demons." _VEGA beeped. "_I can conclude that this could be Hell, or a world very similar to it. The demonic atmosphere suggests towards this theory."_

"_Well, considering that we've already been to a marked 'Hell', I am not inclined to believe the statement. Nonetheless…"_

Hayden walked over to Charlie, inspecting her. She was very discomforted by a 10-foot tall robot leaning in to look at her.

"_She almost resembles a human. Were it not for a few features, I would not have thought different. This place is...interesting."_

"Um...thank you?" Charlie remarked, not sure of how to respond to that. "Also, who are those people?" She asked, pointing at the UAC personnel.

"_I have little faith that you have any knowledge or understanding of the customs and traditions of Earth or our world, so I will-"_

"What do you mean?" Charlie inquired. "I know about Earth, and humans, and butterflies and everything else! I just...haven't...seen any of that."

Hayden stared at her for a moment, which unsettled her. Then he raised one finger and pointed at his entourage.

"_Those are humans." _He stated bluntly.

Charlie hadn't comprehended his statement for a moment. When she did, her eyes widened and lit up brightly.

"_REALLLY?"_

Charlie ran over to the group, all of whom leered back in fear. Charlie grabbed the hand of one of the scientist and shook it with a big smile on her face.

"OH MY GOSH I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE AND MEET A HUMAN! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU LOOKED LIKE THIS! WOW, THIS IS AMAZING-"

While Charlie fangirl'ed over the group of humans before her, Hayden turned to Angel , who was staring at a lone flower in the middle of the sand, and the group of Husk, Niffty and Vaggie standing behind him.

"_Who are you all?"_

Angel turned his head up to Hayden, shrugging.

"We just follow whatever Charlie does at this point. Her _entourage, _if you will."

Hayden nodded, turning his attention back to the Doom Slayer.

"_Slayer," _He said. "_I will work with you in order to dispel this demonic threat and to figure out a way out of this dimension. After that, I advise you go to Earth and settle down. Find a woman, have a family, enjoy a peaceful lifestyle. There's no need nor benefit to purging all of these demons, nor subjecting yourself to constant torment at chasing this asinine goal. Humanity needs Argent Energy in order to advance, and I refuse to give it up for your nonsensical goal of chasing down each and every demon."_

The Doom Slayer merely stared at Hayden for a moment, balling his fists.

"_There is little point to debating all of this right now," _VEGA beeped. "_So you might as well save the speech for after we defeat this 'demon leader' you claim exists."_

Hayden nodded.

"_Very well, then. Where shall we devise our stratagem?"_


	18. ONE STOOD

**Chapter 18: ONE STOOD…**

Within the palace of the Capital, Hayden, Charlie and the Doom Slayer were gathered around a table in the War Room. Charlie brought out a large map and unfolded it over the table.

"Okay, so." Charlie started, placing her finger on one part of the map. "There are four giant regions in Hell that we've chartered so far."

"_Chartered?" _VEGA beeped in a questioning manner. Charlie nodded.

"Beyond the chartered land is territory that we can't exactly...walk on, because it's extremely dangerous."

"_It could be possible that the portal is past those lands." _VEGA beeped.

"That's ridiculous."

Everyone turned their heads to see Benny entering the war room, along with two other demons, an Imp and a wolf-human hybrid. All of them were in chains and heavily guarded by an entourage of royal guards.

"Benny…" Charlie muttered, her eyes tearing up. She remembered seeing his mace on the ground in the aftermath of the battle in the Capital, completely clean. She knew he never would have dropped that mace in battle. After the conflict, she had held a small funeral for him by herself, and spent hours sobbing and cursing herself for allowing him to die. Now, seeing him in the flesh once more, especially after she knew he had died and thought him to be gone for good, was a morbid experience, and it felt as if her feelings of sorrow and despair, her resolve to carry on, were mocked.

Benny noticed her staring at him, and was taken aback by her disheveled demeanor. Her hair was uncombed and ruffled, her clothing was dirtied and wrinkled, and her eyes were glazed over slightly, as if she had undergone serious trauma.

"Charlotte…" He whispered, feeling an overwhelming urge to run over and embrace her in a long hug. He had not seen her since during that battle, and now that he finally got the chance to see her again, he wanted to cry out in pain at the miserable state she seemed to be in.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, can we skip the drama?"

Benny felt his blood boil as he looked down at the Imp below him in chains, whom he noticed was just as miserable as Charlie.

"_Who are these creatures?" _Hayden vocalized, and Benny was shocked to see the nearly 10-foot tall robot standing across from him at the war table.

"That's...my royal guard." Charlie spoke up. "I...don't know those demons in chains."

The imp raised his shackles and sarcastically waved at Charlie.

"Nice to meet ya, sweety. Lookin' fresh." He said cleverly, though there was no joy behind his voice. The wolf-human hybrid behind him was silent, staring at the ground. Charlie looked up at Benny.

"Who are they?" She asked simply.

"This one here-"

Benny jerked the chain for the imp, who grunted in displeasure.

"-Was seen giving that bastard Alastor the Ancient Book that Stolas possessed. I wasn't sure what else to do with him, but I believe that an issue regarding royalty should be resolved by royalty."

"_Ancient book?" _Hayden inquired. Benny looked up at Hayden, feeling more than intimidated by the mechanic giant's presence.

"Er...yes." He muttered. "It's a book that allows demons to travel to the living world. It's rarely used, however."

Hayden was silent after that sentence. Charlie's eyes flicked up towards him.

"...What?" She asked, sensing that Hayden was deep in thought. "Is something wrong with what he said?"

"_It may be mere suspicion," _Hayden said. "_But whoever opened that portal likely has far worse intentions in mind for this dimension than releasing a horde of demons into this version of Hell."_

Hayden turned his head upwards towards everyone in the room.

"_This 'Alastor' may be assisting the individual that opened the portal by helping them send those demons up to this dimension's version of Earth."_

_Crack!_

The Doom Slayer's hand, which was holding the side of the large table, tightened in fury, sending webs of cracks throughout the table.

"_It's the same scenario as before," _VEGA beeped. "_With a different situation."_

"_It would seem so, if my assumptions are correct." _Hayden said. "_And this is OUR dimension's problem now, because if they have an interdimensional portal and a gateway to this dimension's Earth, they will be able to grow their power a thousand times over, then storm our dimension. That would be the end."_

"I don't see how that's _our _problem." Angel remarked. "Who cares if a few jack-offs in another dimension get wiped? Means more demons down here, more chaos, and more fun- _GACK!"_

Angel suddenly felt his windpipe close off as the Doom Slayer clenched his throat. Angel could get no words out of his mouth, not even for a raunchy quip.

"Hey!" Charlie shouted. "Let him go!"

The Doom Slayer's visor moved towards Charlie, who was suddenly hit with that same fear she had when she first met him in the Capital. However, the Doom Slayer released Angel, who fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Vaggie, who had been standing in the corner away from the table, cracked a malicious grin.

"_This matters to you," _Hayden answered, addressing Angel's remark. "_Because these demons will kill you the same as any human being, and what might await during the reign of THESE demons is not something that any of you would like to experience."_

"_I did want to relay back to the topic of those 'uncharted lands' that Miss Charlie spoke of." _VEGA voiced. "_Mr. Benny, I believe you had something to say about that?"_

"Er, yes." Benny started. "Those lands are, essentially, unable to be navigated. The environment is extremely dangerous, and the landscape is so harsh that all the exploration teams we sent to those places perished. In fact, _this _is why we have an overpopulation problem, because we can't extend our cities and towns into these territories. We possess neither the capabilities nor technology to-"

"_I think I can solve that problem." _Hayden interrupted. "_The UAC is well-equipped in handling 'extreme' terrain. Assemble what soldiers and forces you may have, and you shall be able to traverse this landscape."_

"Well, that's asserting that the portal is even out there. We haven't searched most of our current landscape yet."

"_We don't need to." _Hayden surmised. "_If the portal was erected within the tamed lands of this Hell, you would have heard about it."_

He pointed at the red landscape that marked the uncharted land on the map.

"_Give my men a few days to construct the necessary components for traversing this landscape, and you will be able to cross this uncharted land."_

* * *

After the meeting, Charlie had brought all of her friends into a separate room with a balcony. Husk, Niffty, Angel and Vaggie all shuffled in as Charlie closed the door behind them.

"Um, I know this is kind of short notice, but…" She started. "I wanted to talk to you guys about...our current situation."

She walked over to the balcony and turned around, facing the group.

"I, uh…" She muttered, scratching her head. "I know these past few days have been pretty...bad. And...I'm sorry that you all had to endure everything that went down, a lot of it because of me. So…"

She lifted her head up, her face tired and dejected.

"I'm sorry. For all of this. All I wanted was to...to have a hotel for sinners to repent, so they could go to Heaven. And now...we're here."

The room was silent.

"I won't blame you if you want to leave here. I can't guarantee your safety because of this situation, but I can at least-"

"Hold that statement, sweetheart." Angel interrupted, raising a single finger. "What exactly are _you _gonna do for us? If we don't stop these cock-holding shitfucks-"

He tromped over to the balcony, throwing open the doors and stepping out onto the small terrace, waving his arms across the entirety of the city.

"-EVERYONE IN THIS ENTIRE FUCKIN' DIMENSION IS FUCKED!" He shouted, pointing at various buildings and people to emphasize his point.

"THEY are fucked, THAT BUILDING is fucked, THAT GUY OVER THERE-"

"Howdy!"

"-IS FUCKED!"

He stomped back in, his face filled with rage.

"I didn't overdose on PCP and suffer this shithole for 80 or so fuckin' years so I could get killed AGAIN!"

He walked up to Charlie and prodded her chest with his finger.

"We-"

_Poke._

"Are-"

_Poke._

"Going-"

_Poke._

"To-"

_Poke._

"Fix-"

_POKE._

"This-"

_POKE!_

"SHIT!"

"Okay, okay!" Charlie stuttered, raising her hands as a sign of peace. Despite his over-the-top protest, she felt a lot better about getting confirmation from a friend.

"Gotta agree." Husk muttered. "I haven't been in a battle since 'Nam, but I sure as hell am ready to fight for my life again, even if it means living in this fuckin' place."

"Me too!" Niffty piped up. "There's going to be so much cleaning up to do after we _SLAUGHTER THESE JACKASSES!"_

Husk recoiled slightly at the explosive statement delivered by the little gremlin-looking demon, then back up at Charlie.

"The fuck? Are you crying?" Husk noticed. Charlie wiped her eyes, seemingly realizing she was doing so, then placed her gaze on Vaggie, who was standing in the corner again. The sight hurt Charlie, as she knew Vaggie to be a stoic but proud person, and to see her in this constantly-fearful state hurt her heart.

"Vaggie," She started. "You don't have to-"

"No." Vaggie stated. "I do have to. Especially for you, Charlie."

She drew a long breath and exhaled, then straightened herself up.

"I went with you through hell. Literally. And I will go through more if it means you can live a life better than this."

It took all that Charlie had emotionally to not break down right there. After seeing the grisly and horrible deaths of many of her friends and people she knew for a long time, she was relieved to have people backing her up through all of this.

"Okay, then." Charlie said. "For now, I guess we just have to wait. Or maybe...train?"

"Train?" Angel asked. "As in, improve our combat skills or something?"

"Yeah."

Angel scratched his head.

"I _guess _we could do that. Or..."

A grin snaked across his face.

"I have a _much_ better idea."

* * *

A_ few days later..._

_**VRRRRRRRRRR!**_

"How do I keep ending up in these situations?" Seymour asked aloud. He and the rest of his regiment were deployed with some form of futuristic military jeeps, which hovered over the boiling lava landscape as they zoomed through the uncharted land.

"Seymour, don't stare into the lava."

Seymour looked up at Dusty, his longtime best friend and, just like everyone else in his squad at the time, died violently in front of him at the hands of the Doom Slayer; And if Seymour were to lift his head up a little more, he would see Dusty's killer and revivalist standing at the bulwark of this expedition, far upfront with the more important figures. He had no idea how to feel about this, and frankly, he didn't care to try and investigate this myriad of emotional confusion.

"Seymour, you continue to stare into the lava, despite what I just said, bruh."

Seymour couldn't help but giggle at that statement. In light of all this morbidity and depression, more so than it was before the Slayer's arrival, he was deeply thankful to have Dusty back.

"My bad, comrade."

"Comrade?" Dusty smirked. "Didn't take you for a Commie."

"It's got Viking origin." Seymour remarked. "On god."

"Oh? On god?"

The two grinned at each other, before looking back out at the surrounding environment. Seymour took a moment to look around the jeep, recounting the familiar faces riding along with him. Besides Dusty, Steadman and Bricks were back on the squad, which he was elated about, along with a few fresh-faced soldiers, who looked nervous about the whole thing.

"Captain Dusty, sir." One of them piped up, a taller Imp with red-black skin and small horns jutting through his helmet. "Has anyone besides us actually been out here?"

"Nope."

That answer did nothing to reassure the recruit, who looked even more nervous after hearing that response.

Despite this harrowing expedition, Seymour felt special, as if he were setting a precedent by exploring a long-unexplored land. Even if it was Hell.

Suddenly, the radio on Dusty's shoulder crackled to life.

"_Hellhound Zero-One, report in, over." _

Dusty grabbed the radio, pressing on the button and speaking into it.

"_This is Hellhound Zero-One, what did you need, Overlord? Over."_

"_We're getting reports of movement to the East. We're sending your squadron, along with Hellhound Zero-Two and Zero-Three, to go investigate."_

"_Copy, Overlord, over."_

Dusty released the radio button, getting up from his seat and speaking to the driver of the floating jeep. After a few words, the driver nodded, then began turning the jeep to the right, towards the East. He was followed quickly by several of the other jeeps, with Seymour's convoy being at the front. Dusty took a seat once more, his eyes flickering past Seymour's.

"Good to be back in the action, I suppose." Dusty said, trying to speak over the bubbling lava landscape.

Dusty's behavior both disturbed and intrigued Seymour. Despite having been 'killed' by the Doom Slayer, Seymour experienced only a few hours of the 'lower levels' of Hell. Without going into much description, it was without a doubt the worst thing he had ever experienced in his entire existence. Within the few mere hours he had spent there, his entire worldview had changed, especially because of the range of emotional and mental trauma he had endured. Dusty had to endure that kind of torment for _days_. And yet, here he was, talking as if he had never gone down there. At this point, Seymour could only see him as some sort of Chuck Norris-level badass.

"I think I see something, Captain, sir." One of the recruits remarked. Seymour turned his head to the East and noticed a break in the bubbling lava, over the horizon.

"Is that solid ground?" Another inquired.

As the battalion approached, Seymour confirmed it to be solid ground, but an odd type at that. It seemed to be pure, stygian rock, smooth and glossy-looking. The jeep carriers flew in and, after a few tested the ground to ensure it could be walked on, the carriers landed, and the soldiers filed out of the jeeps, bringing up their rifles.

Meanwhile, Seymour, being the scout of his small platoon, brought up his binoculars, which had been enhanced by the UAC, whom he had worked close with for the past few days as they made several technological advancements to his gear and weaponry. He had no idea how so many scientists and soldiers had ended up here in Hell, but he didn't question it, which he found befitting of his role as a soldier.

Scanning the horizon, he noticed a few bumps at the edge, moving erratically.

"Dusty, you might want to take a look at this." Seymour remarked, handing the binos to Dusty, who peered through them.

"Aw, fuck." He muttered, handing them back to Seymour and inspecting his rifle, before looking back at the battalion of soldiers.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR A BATTLE, Y'ALL! GET YOUR GUNS READY!"

Dusty turned his head back to facing the East horizon as several guns were cocked, loaded and readied. Seymour looked to him as one would to an idol.

"What's the game plan, sir?" He asked.

Dusty's expression was one of grim determination as he cocked his rifle.

"Plan is-"

_**Ka-chink!**_

"-We break in this discovered new land by staining it with red."


	19. HE CHOSE THE PATH OF PERPETUAL TORMENT

**Chapter 19: HE CHOSE THE PATH OF PERPETUAL TORMENT…**

"HELLHOUND ZERO-ONE, SQUAD TWO, MOVE YOUR JEEP TO CENTER LEFT!"

Squads moved around rapidly as Dusty ordered soldiers to various positions, along with two other officers commanding and directing. Meanwhile, Seymour kept his binoculars aimed at the approaching horde on the horizon.

"Seymour, how far away are they now?"

"Around 800 meters, sir!"

_"REEAAAUUGGGHHHH!"_

_"RAAAH! RAAAH RAAH RAAAAAHHH!"_

_"YEEAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!"_

The moans and groans of the oncoming horde sent pangs of fear into the hearts of every soldier present, including Seymour. From what he could see through the binoculars, they were zombie-like, shuffling quickly towards the formation. And yet, they numbered in the thousands, their mass shuffling paired with the crude babbling from their mouths creating a cacophony of unsettling sounds.

"ENGIES, READY THE DEFENSES!" Dusty barked, and dozens of soldiers with tools went forward onto the black-marbled surface, setting up makeshift barricades, from sandbags and barbed wire to platforms and landmines. Engineers went forward and set down portable mortar placements behind the lines.

"400 meters, sir!" Seymour shouted, almost in panic as he was alarmed by the rate at which the zombies were advancing.

"READY WEAPONS!"

The sounds of dozens of firearms being unslung and loaded pierced the air, and soldiers lined up against their makeshift defenses.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…" One soldier muttered in terror as he witnessed the hordes staggering towards the formation.

"AIM!"

The soldiers aimed through their sights, focused on the heads of each zombie.

"200 METERS, SIR!" Seymour shouted, panic rising in his throat.

"HOLD!" Dusty held his hand up as everyone kept their rifles aimed. The zombies got ever closer.

"150 METERS, SIR!"

"HOLD!"

The zombie hordes were alarmingly close now, and their screams were filling the air, making everyone antsy and panicky.

"120 METERS, SIR! THEY'RE CLOSE!"

"I SAID FUCKIN' HOLD!"

The zombie horde was nearly upon them, and Seymour could see the horde extend all the way back into the horizon.

"100 METERS!"

**"FIRE!"**

_**BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRT! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRT! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! POP! POP! POP!**_

_**BANG! BANG BANG! BRRRT! BRRRT! BANG! BANG! BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRT! POP! BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! POP! POP-POP-POP-POP! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BRRRT! BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRT! BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG! POP! POP! POP!**_

_**BRRRT! BRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! POP-POP! POP! BANG! BANG! BRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT! BRRRT! BANG-BANG-POP-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-POP-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!**_

Seymour's ears nearly popped as they could only process the sheer amount of gunfire that gripped the atmosphere, joined quickly by the launching of dozens of mortars. He watched as the bullets ripped through the hordes, tearing the zombies to pieces, followed quickly by a hail of bombing as explosions popped up all throughout the hordes, sending blood, gore and limbs flying in every direction.

"READY MORTARS!" Dusty screamed.

The mortar placements picked up the next set of bombs, ready to place them in.

"LOAD 'EM UP AND BLOW THEM TO FUCKING SUPER HELL!"

The placements dropped the bombs in the tubes, covering their ears as the ignition sent each of the bombs flying into the air.

_POP-POP-POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!_

_POP! POP-POP-POP! POP-POP! POP! POP-POP!_

The gunfire continued to deafen the atmosphere, only overshadowed in sound by the whistling of the volley of bombs that flew over the hordes and came down upon them with ferocity.

_**BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM-BOOOOOM!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOM!**_

_**BOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOM!**_

The bomb barrage decimated more of the hordes, causing more blood and gore to spew across the battlefield and suffocating the air with ash and dust.

All of this carnage and pandemonium seemed to do heavy damage to the zombie ranks, which were now visibly thinned out from the hailstorm of weapons fire they continued to endure.

"FOCUS ON THE LEFT FLANK, THEY AREN'T THINNED OUT ENOUGH! LIGHT THOSE FUCKERS UP!"

_**BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

Seymour was unable to think or process anything as his ears were filled with nothing but gunfire, explosions and the groans of the dead. And yet, he felt relieved to see the numbers of the zombies dwindling as the heavy gunfire continued.

"FUCK YEAH!" One of the soldiers shouted as he emptied his magazine against the hordes. "TAKE THAT YOU FUCKIN' DEMONS!"

Whiiiiii-

"KEEP FIRING!" Dusty continued to bark orders, his voice getting considerably more hoarse as he was shouting orders nonstop. "LET YOUR BATTLE BUDDY KNOW WHEN YOU'RE RELOADING-"

**BOOOOM!**

Seymour was thrown backwards as a large explosion went off against a nearby makeshift barricade. Disoriented, he tried to get up, stumbling several times in the process.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Dusty demanded, looking at the now-open hole in the defenses. He looked forward to the horizon, and his heart dropped.

Several monstrously large, red and buff demons were stomping down through the hordes, squishing several of the zombies under their hooves as they slowly advanced towards the barricade. They conjured fire in their palms and launched them at the barricades, setting several soldiers on fire and sending more flying away from the barricade.

"AAAAAAH! FUUUUCK! NOT AGAIN!" One of the soldiers, who had a gas mask on, screamed in terror.

"FOCUS YOUR FIRE ON THOSE BIG FUCKIN' DEMONS!" Dusty shouted, and the gunfire concentrated on them. He noticed, however, that most of the shots were pinging off of the natural armor that the demons had on.

"FUCK IT, FOCUS YOUR FIRE BACK ON THE HORDE!" Dusty barked. "MORTARS AND ROCKET LAUNCHERS, FOCUS BOMBARDMENT ON THOSE DAMN DEMONS UP THERE!"

_POP! POP! POP!_

Another volley of bombs whistled over the heads of the soldiers and the hordes, eventually coming down on the heads of the large demons.

**BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOOOOM!**

The ground shook heavily as the bombs exploded on the demons, sending debris flying as dust and smoke billowed outwards, clouding vision over the large demons. Dusty felt the suspense as he waited for something to erupt from the clouds, wondering if he had eliminated the threat.

_Wheeeeeeeee-_

**BOOOM!**

A fireball burst through the dust clouds, flew over the heads of the horde and blasted another part of the long defense line, causing havoc in the ranks of the soldiers.

"SHIT!" Dusty shouted in rage, seeing the hulking demons step out from the dust clouds. He felt as if he could sense them smirking and laughing at his attempt to kill them.

From there, the tide of battle changed as the large demons continued to throw fireball after fireball at the defenses, blowing more holes through the line and sending more soldiers flying around.

"RETREAT FROM THE LINE!" Dusty shouted as he saw the hordes of zombies descending upon them, tearing down the defenses. The soldiers retreated backwards, continuing to fire at the hordes of zombies, which now seemed to be overwhelmingly large and having recovered some of their numbers.

As they continued to inch backwards, Dusty noticed that they were slowly being cornered at the point where the black surface they were standing on melded into the boiling lava, and he realized what was happening.

"LOAD UP IN THE FLOATS, QUICKLY-"

As if sensing what he was about to order next, the large demons threw several fireballs, almost with perfect precision, at the floating vehicles, blowing all of them up. Dusty balled his fist in rage.

"What the hell is going on here?" He muttered. It was as if there were some invisible mastermind strategizing and directly controlling the actions of the large demons and the horde.

The soldiers were backed closer and closer to the boiling lava as the horde descended towards them, and the soldiers began to take notice of the terrible situation they were about to be in.

"CAPTAIN! WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?" One of his NCOs shouted. Dusty was lost for words, unable to find anything more to use against the demons. All of the weaponry they possessed currently was unable to affect the large demons. He remembered vaguely, during a meeting with that 10-foot tall robot, about getting new weaponry to combat this demonic threat, but he hadn't yet deployed them to the infantry.

Finally, the battle started to get tighter and tighter as soldiers began to run out of bullets, and the numbers of the hordes only seemed to grow as they got closer.

And then, the soldiers were forced to stop, unable to stand the heat emanating from the boiling lava they were inching closer towards.

"Oh god…" Seymour muttered, realizing the situation, along with every other soldier. They all looked on at the hordes of zombies, who had suddenly stopped groaning and stopped in their tracks, standing still. The large demons stomped forward, spinning the fireballs in their hands, grinning devilishly as they cornered their prey.

"They're...they're _toying_ with us…" Seymour muttered in horror, getting flashbacks to his time in the lower levels of Hell. "Oh, god, no...please…"

Dusty looked between his soldiers and the demons, torn with despair and indecision as he wracked his mind for a solution.

"How the fuck does this keep happening?" He seethed. Nothing had changed. This situation was the exact same as when he had fought the Doom Slayer. For the second time in a row, he was going to get men under his command killed.

In a brief moment, he looked back on his life as a human. When he had first joined the US Military, serving for years, moving up the chain until he reached the rank of Captain. He had wanted to stay in the field to get into the action and lead his company. It had taken a single wrong call to cause the deaths of hundreds of his men.

And he believed that to be the reason he had ended up here in Hell. He had no wrong intentions, no malicious behavior, no selfish desires driving him to that wrong call.

He simply believed himself to be an incompetent commander, and in turn that had caused the deaths of hundreds of good people, people with families, livelihoods, aspirations and ambitions.

He had tried to redeem himself here in Hell, by joining the ranks of the standing military. He had tried to make it up in some twisted way, planning and strategizing as much as possible beforehand.

And the two chances he had to prove his mettle, he failed.

_Clink._

Seymour saw as Dusty took off his helmet and dropped it on the ground, his eyes filled with despair and defeat. He watched the man he had respected for so long, someone he had looked up to in this hellish wasteland as his role model, fall apart.

**And he was filled with a boiling rage.**

_"RRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"_

In a fit of fury, he took out his service pistol, firing at the hordes as he screamed in anger.

All of this is fruitless, he thought to himself, watching the bullets zip through the heads of the zombies. None of the Barons reacted, simply watching him, as if amused with his tantrum.

_I am so utterly powerless to these demons. They are on an entirely different level._

_Click, click, click._

He ran into the crowd of the humanoid flesh-eaters, beating them aside with the butt of his pistol. Several of them came out of their frozen state and grabbed at him, taking bites out of his armor, a few grazing his flesh. He tried to shrug them off, continuing to beat them aside as he made his way towards the frontmost Baron.

_What's the point of fighting, when you face an enemy so powerful that nothing you do can hurt them?_

A clearing in the crowd allowed Seymour to continue sprinting towards the Baron, and he started to hear commotion from behind him, the sounds of metal hitting flesh. He couldn't help but grin as he realized his fellow infantrymen were yelling and beating these damned flesh-eaters back the same as he was, with all they had left.

_There really isn't a point to doing all of this, nor will anything be accomplished from this futile fight._

He noticed one flesh-eater standing right in front of the towering Baron, and in a moment of madness threw his pistol at the flesh-eater, unsheathing his knife as the handgun slammed into the face of the flesh-eater.

Back at the line of defense, several of the soldiers momentarily paused in their fighting.

"Wha...what is that sound?" One of the soldiers inquired.

"It...sounds like...heavy metal?" Another said aloud.

Seymour jumped and, using the flesh-eater's face as a trampoline board, sprang up towards the Baron, roaring with wrath as he raised his combat knife towards the Baron's head.

And was grabbed mid-air by the Baron, a meter from his face. The Baron cackled, as did the others, as Seymour felt the air leave his lung while the Baron slowly began crushing his torso. The Baron brought him closer to his face, and Seymour stared with horror into the demon's eyes, seeing millennia of torture, agony and suffering.

**_I'LL BE DAMNED IF I DON'T GO DOWN FIGHTING!_**

_SCHINK!_

_**"RRRREUAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"**_

The Baron roared with pain as Seymour brought the knife down into the Baron's left eye, twisting it wrathfully, feeling his body rejuvenate with a sick delight as he watched the Baron roar with pain.

In the next second, he felt the Baron throw him over the horde, crashing into several of the flesh-eaters. The Baron shielded its bloody eye with one gnarled hand, conjuring a fireball with the other, its single eye filled with seething rage. It brought up the fireball, aiming it at the nearly-dead Seymour, who was unable to move as several of his bones were broken.

"DO IT, MOTHERFUCKER!" Seymour screamed at him, cackling with delight as he felt pure joy rising up inside him. "I HURT YOU, DIDN'T I? I STABBED YOUR FUCKING EYE OUT! HAHAHAHA!"

_**VRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!**_

A massive beam of energy shot through the center of the Baron's chest, tearing through several of the flesh-eaters behind it. The Baron looked down in disbelief at the massive hole in its chest.

And then, a familiar figure dived out of the sky, bringing one big chainsaw down upon the Baron.

_**SCCCHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIICCCCKKKKK!**_

The Baron screamed in agony as the chainsaw tore through its torso, and the Doom Slayer wrenched it all the way down into the ground. Seymour, who was barely conscious, could feel the fear emanating from every demon present, even from his own infantrymen as they watched the messy display of violence.

And then, the true carnage began.

For what seemed to be the 5th time in a row, the soldiers watched, this time as observers, while the Doom Slayer went to work butchering the demons left and right. It was almost artistic, the way he danced about slaughtering the flesh-eaters in droves, sparing no demon on his path of destruction.

"This..._slayer_...we thought we could _kill_ him?" One soldier mumbled.

"Delusional. We must've been delusional." Another responded.

After the time, energy and resources they had spent trying to take down these hordes of zombies, and the exhausting yet futile effort pitted against the Barons of Hell were quickly overshadowed by the Doom Slayer's performance as he tore all of them down seemingly with ease and an efficiency that terrified and marveled them both at once. One soldier began chanting his title, followed by several others, eventually followed by the entirety of the company.

**"DOOM SLAYER! DOOM SLAYER! DOOM SLAYER!"**

The battle lasted only a few minutes, with the Doom Slayer eventually unsheathing the BFG and blasting away the hordes of the possessed, along with the Barons, tracking down the survivors and ending them mercilessly, all the while followed by his new legion of die-hard followers, chanting his name and stabbing the corpses of any possessed lying on the ground.

**"DOOM SLAYER! DOOM SLAYER! DOOM SLAYER!"**

Seymour, through nearly-closed eyes, could just barely process the Slayer's actions, though he understood from the chanting that they had won the battle, though with the Slayer's intervention. Regardless, a big grin was plastered

Dusty watched on in bewilderment and exhausted relief, slinging his rifle and picking his helmet back up from the ground.

"Another day to live. Another day to prove my worth. And this man..."

He looked on at the Slayer as he continued further into the landscape, killing every last demon in his wake. He felt his heart fill with hope.

"...Is going to lead us to victory."


	20. IN HIS RAVENOUS HATRED

**Chapter 20: IN HIS RAVENOUS HATRED…**

Blood. Gore. Limbs. Corpses.

Every sight before her unsettled her mind, filled her head with stress, anxiety and worry. She was the Princess of Hell, and yet the sights before her sickened her to the stomach.

All of these soldiers...dead. None of them had shown back up yet. Maybe it had some relation to do with the portal, but regardless, she only felt more sick from this development. Just when things were starting to die down, when demons were beginning to change…

_This must be the curse of Hell_, she thought morbidly. _To be able to go through so much pain and suffering for a goal, to be given some semblance of hope...only for it to be ripped away by another obstacle._

She had been left by herself as the other patrols flew into the area on their carriers, soldiers filing off the vehicles and combing the area. She looked around, seeing the stygian black surface the carrier was hovering over, then looked back at the ocean of lava, bubbling and emitting steam.

Though she was alarmingly close to it, she and the other demons were extremely resistant to heat (fitting, considering where they were), but the lava would still kill any who fell into it.

Except…

She looked back at the masses of soldiers on the surface, combing the area, and those that were disappearing over the horizon.

And she saw him, standing at the cusp of the horizon, as far as her eye could see.

**The Doom Slayer.**

He was not idling. He was waiting. Menacingly. Despite how far off he was, Charlie could feel the malice emanating from his mere presence. His aura screamed violence, rage, hatred.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

Charlie clutched her chest. Her heart was beginning to pound, a feeling that deeply confused her. This...being was out to exterminate every demon in existence, and that almost included her and everyone in this hell. And yet…and yet…

Why was her heart beating?

She pulled out a photo she had, of her mother. She was still missing, and no one had any idea where she went or could have gone.

As she stared at the photo, Charlie remembered one conversation she had with her mother, when she was very young.

_"Mommy!" She remembered crying, running to her mother as tears streamed down her cheeks._

_Her mother bent down with a loving smile, tilting her head slightly in curiosity._

_"What's wrong, my little princess?"_

_Charlie cried and sniffled, trying to speak in between sobs._

_"I feel weird, Mommy. I saw someone get crushed by a rock and I got excited. Why do I feel excited, mommy?"_

_Her mother bowed her head for a moment, though she wasn't sure why. She couldn't see the expression on her face. When she did, Charlie saw a mix of sadness and misery on her face. For a moment, she could see the bags under her eyes, the emptiness behind her irises._

_"Charlie…" She said, a shallow, positive tone behind her voice. "We are the original Spawn of Hell. And thus...we find sin to be...alluring. Stimulating."_

_"What does that mean, mommy?"_

_"It means...we **like** violence, hatred, suffering. We feel a personal...excitement from seeing and experiencing those things."_

_Charlie's eyes filled with more tears than before._

_"But...but I don't want to be like that, mommy! I want to be like humans! I want to enjoy things that are...are good! Like...birds and..and planes and parks and-"_

_She felt her mother envelope her into a hug as Charlie broke down crying even more._

_"I'm sorry, Charlie. But that's...how it is. But, don't fret, my little princess…"_

_She released her from the hug momentarily, smiling at Charlie._

_"You have humanity in you, you know?"_

_Charlie's big, bright eyes locked with her mother's._

_"...Really?"_

_"Of course! After all, demons only came from the existence of humans. You could say that...in the end..we are one of the original forms of humans."_

_Charlie's eyes began to light up even more, a toothy grin widening across her face._

_"REALLY?"_

_"Really."_

_Charlie giggled joyously._

_"Mommy, can I hear more tales about the humans and Earth again?"_

_"Sure, my little princess." Her mother said soothingly, bringing Charlie into her lap._

_From there, she told tales of the humans, how they lived in big, beautiful, bright cities and lush, green lands; How the Earth had mountains and valleys, tundras and deserts, blue skies and beautiful starry nights, where you could see stars twinkle in the darkness of space; She told Charlie of the people, of how they laughed and talked, of how they got angry and how they cried, of how they developed deep bonds with each other, of friendship, and…_

_Of **love**._

_"Mommy, will I be able to love someone?" Charlie asked._

_"Of course you will, my little princess. You have such a big heart, I'm sure you'll find someone to share all that love with! But…"_

_Suddenly, Charlie locked eyes again with her mother, and this time she saw an expression of grim warning._

_"I want you to know, Charlie." She said. "As spawns of Hell, we enjoy sin in all feelings. That includes...love. You will be attracted not just to violence, but to power. You will find yourself being attracted to people with a lot of power to cause violence. That's...actually one of the reasons I fell in love with your father."_

_Charlie tilted her head curiously._

_"You love dad because he can hurt a lot of people?"_

_"No, it's not like that exactly...in fact, that power was only what got me interested in him...the power that comes from him means so much more. When we got together, I found that the power he had was a result of his determination, his dedication to survival and to achievement. That's...actually why we've been able to work together so well, why we have no problem with each other."_

_"So...it's not the power that is good, but the person that uses it?"_

_"...Yes. I'd say it like that." Her mother said, that smile spreading across her face once more. "But that doesn't mean you should find someone based on how powerful they are. You should find someone that makes you **happy**, Charlie."_

**_Someone that makes me happy..._**

"Miss Charlotte?"

"Huh- w-what?"

Charlie was suddenly wrenched from her flashback, and looked down to see a soldier standing at attention.

"Y-Yes?"

"Miss Charlotte, we went searching far across this new landscape, and we decided to establish an outpost further inland. If you'd like to come over with us…"

"Of course." Charlie said, nodding her head fervently. "Let me just...get my things together."

"Yes, Miss Charlotte. Also, Commander VEGA and Commander Hayden are holding a meeting, and they asked that you be present for it. If you wish to."

"I...shall be there. For the meeting. Yes." Charlie asserted, attempting to crack a smile. The soldier seemed to notice her mood, however.

"Is...everything alright, Miss Charlotte? You seem...not as spritely and...tired."

"Well...this is a bad situation we're in, I suppose. And...I haven't seen any of the demons that died show back up yet."

The soldier's demeanor faltered for a moment, then reasserted, though his eyes were cast downwards.

"That's...worrying me, as well. Hopefully, they are just lost somewhere. We should be able to find them soon, I'm sure."

"Of course." Charlie muttered.

As the soldier began hurrying back to the established outpost, Charlie looked down once more at the carnage of blood and gore that had been splattered across the ground during the fight. Despite what her mother had said, about loving violence, hatred and gore...it was the opposite for her now, it seemed. At least, from what she could tell. Her feelings were so mixed up she couldn't actually tell what she wanted or felt.

"I hope we do find them…" She muttered.

* * *

_"To be frank, Hayden, I was more surprised that you weren't surprised upon hearing my automated voice."_ VEGA beeped as the Doom Slayer sat on a bench, doing maintenance on his chainsaw.

_"Your sudden return from the dead is not deserving of my surprise."_ Hayden articulated.

_"Pardon my language, but that was extremely fucking rude."_ VEGA responded.

_"We are beings of **science**, VEGA, not of charisma."_

"I don't even know what the hell you two are made of." Benny muttered as he sat in the corner, chewing on salted jerky.

As Charlie entered the abode, all of the heads in the room turned towards her, save for the Doom Slayer.

"Where's Angel, and Husk, and the others?"

"Separate quarters." Benny responded, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "Good to see you, Charlie."

Despite the dire situation, she couldn't help but crack a smile at seeing Benny.

"You too-"

_"Now that the essentials are here,"_ Hayden interrupted, laying a device on the round table. _"It is crucial that we begin planning for-"_

"Hold on." Benny interrupted. "I still was never told why Miss Charl-...why Charlie was needed for this expedition."

Hayden made a sound that was similar to a sigh.

_"VEGA and I thought this over, and came to a very simple conclusion: If this portal was opened in this Hell, that very likely means there are only a few solutions for closing it. There is also the theory that only something from THIS hell can close the portal. Seeing as Charlie is the only member we have of the 'royal' family of this dimension, she may be a key in closing that portal."_

"How did you come up with that theory?" Benny inquired.

_"To quote an ancient insurance company's slogan,"_ VEGA beeped. _"'We **know** a thing or two because we've **seen** a thing or two."_

"...I see." Benny muttered. "Carry on, then."

_"Thank you for the permission."_ Hayden said sardonically. _"Back to the point:"_

He pressed something on the small device lying on the round table, and a large, holographic 3D display came up, with a large mapping of the landscape they were on. It was moving in real-time, so Charlie could see all of the soldiers moving around, all the equipment being used and the construction being done on the outpost. Hayden pressed down on the map and began swiping in a different direction, further inland.

_"Currently, the UAC drones are mapping the environment ahead of us and scanning for anomalies. If we find anything of interest, things we may need to interact with, we will send an expedition forward to map it out. Of course, that includes the Doom Slayer at the helm."_

The entire group within the abode turned their eyes towards the Doom Slayer, who had kept his focus on the chainsaw the entire time.

_"From there,"_ VEGA beeped. _"We intend to track the movements of any demons from our dimension and see if we can find out where they are originating from. Once we start seeing high volumes of those demons, we'll be sure that we are near the portal."_

The Doom Slayer had suddenly stopped, looking up towards the group staring back at him. Everyone's eyes suddenly averted in different directions.

_"Well, Doom Slayer,"_ Hayden vocalized. _"It would seem that it's about time for you to continue this expedition."_

The Doom Slayer put the chainsaw away, standing up at the same time. He wrapped one hand around the other, cracking his knuckles and neck. He headed for exit, pushing aside the loose flaps.

_"What a terrifying entity."_ Hayden muttered. "_If we manage to bring down this threat before us, I fear what may become of myself and others he initially fought against."_


	21. HE FOUND NO PEACE

**Chapter 21: HE FOUND NO PEACE…**

The Doom Slayer had been sprinting for a few minutes now, having already lost the UAC drones that were assisting in mapping the terrain.

"_They are likely going to be worried if they do not see you on the map, Doom Slayer." _VEGA beeped. He was ignored, something VEGA had gotten used to after spending enough time with the Slayer.

The landscape was unsettlingly all the same: Stygian-black marble, or something similar to it. The Doom Slayer was able to slide across the landscape with relative ease, bounding and leaping and sprinting much quicker than he usually would.

"_I do hope the landscape is not all like this. That would be...disappointing, to say the least." _VEGA beeped once more. "_And I do hope that one day you will speak, so that we could enjoy a pleasant conversation between one another."_

Once again, ignored. VEGA made a sound that was similar to a frustrated sigh.

"_Do what you will, I suppose." _He beeped.

After another dozen minutes or so, VEGA ran another scan of the environment.

"_Hold on, I'm picking up differing terrain a bit far off." _He beeped. "_It's...I...cannot explain it. The bio-scanners are having a hard time deciphering what precisely they are reading. What are we going to encounter?"_

After another minute or two, they finally came to encounter it. The Doom Slayer stopped in his tracks.

There was a sudden cut-off from the black marble ground to the new landscape, which was something that could hardly be described with words.

Beyond the black marble, the landscape was like a chaotic mix of every single environment fathomable from Earth. Tundras and valleys interconnected in the most odd ways, Mountains were suddenly cut off by plains and savannas surrounding them, Deserts mingled with lush green fields brimming with flowers. The entirety of the sight could only be described as logic-defyingly ridiculous.

"_What...exactly am I looking at here?" _VEGA beeped.

The Doom Slayer ignored the sight, stepping over the boundary between the stygian-black marbled ground onto the grass.

"_Wait, Doom Slayer, you shouldn't-!" _

Nothing happened, and the Slayer began walking cautiously through the landscape.

"_My bio scanners are no longer functioning properly." _VEGA beeped. "_I haven't a clue where we are, what the climate is like, how the weather patterns vary...be careful, Doom Slayer."_

They continued on like this for another dozen or so minutes, looking around at the odd environment they were in. The Slayer had to do a lot of parkour and make sudden movements as certain ground collapsed into unseen ravines and underground caverns.

"_What a fascinating environment." _VEGA beeped. "_I am sure that Mr. Hayden will also be enthralled by this unique landscape- Doom Slayer, you shouldn't run."_

The Slayer was not listening. He had sighted something far off, something that looked egregiously familiar…

The closer he got, the more his senses of familiarity tingled. The more his rage began to bubble up.

When he was only a few meters away, he stopped, staring at the artifact.

**The helmet of a Night Sentinel.**

He walked up slowly to the object, kneeling and picking it up, looking it over.

"_What is this helmet?" _VEGA beeped. "_...Is that the helmet of a Night Sentinel?!"_

The Slayer could hear the shock coming from VEGA's voice. He continued looking over the helmet, trying to find distinct markings on it. The more he looked it over, the more he started to realize whose helmet this belonged to.

**He realized who it belonged to.**

"_Doom Slayer, do you recognize this helmet?" _VEGA beeped. "_It seems you-..."_

_**Crack!**_

VEGA suddenly went silent as the Doom Slayer's grip tightened around the helmet, his fingers breaking into the visor and deforming the shape of it.

* * *

**|| THE BETRAYER. ||**

* * *

**He felt rage coursing through his veins as he endured a flashback that revitalized all of the pain, the suffering, the **_**RAGE**_ **he collected over time. A caustic, boiling ferocity turned his knuckles white as he continued crushing the helmet.**

* * *

**|| I WILL FIND HIM. ||**

* * *

_**CRACK-SMASH!**_

The Doom Slayer launched the helmet into the ground, which tore through the dirt and sent cracks webbing across the area.

* * *

** || AND I WILL BREAK HIM. ||**

* * *

With that, the Doom Slayer launched himself forward, sprinting, climbing and hopping, breaking off pieces of the landscape on his path to destruction.


	22. AND WITH BOILING BLOOD

**Chapter 22: AND WITH BOILING BLOOD…**

"How did this shit get so out of hand?"

Adams seemed to be asking himself that question with every second that passed by. Here he was, sitting in some sort of futuristic flying jeep, sailing across a landscape he'd never before seen in Hell, riding along with a 10-foot tall robot, the Princess of Hell, a bunch of humans and his psycho-turned-secretary lover, Annie.

Shit was not Gucci.

"What was that, Adams?"

Speak of the demon. He turned to Annie and tried to crack a smile.

"Eh, nothing. Just some self-reflection."

Annie tilted her head curiously, but eventually looked off into the distance.

"You know, I never expected to be doing this. I mean, I never expected there to be a hell in the first place, but I _really _didn't expect to be doing _this _in Hell."

"Me fucking neither."

"Hey, whatcha guys talkin' about over here?"

Adams looked back to see another imp, one with a black-and-white striped pattern on her horns, wearing some sort of black dress that suggested sluttery of the highest level. Despite this, she radiated no sexual intentions, but rather a giddy, go-get-em attitude.

"Erm...who are you, precisely?" Adams asked as politely as he could. The imp stood up, pressing one hand against her chest.

"_I _am Millie, and this-"

She gestured proudly to another imp, who was sitting near the back of the floating transport.

"-Is my husband, Moxxie! It is so _wonderful _to meet you!"

Despite her cheerful attitude, Adams was put off by the sadistic aura she seemed to carry with her. It felt to him as if she could beat someone to death with a monkey wrench with an innocent smile on her face. Which was not something Adams wanted to be around.

"Sorry she's bothering you two." The other imp, Moxxie, muttered. He seemed far less cheery than her, almost shook, as if he was still recovering from some deep-embedded trauma.

"Er, no, it's no problem." Adams quickly worked to reassure him. "However, your name is Moxxie, as I've heard...I believe you're part of the I.M.P., correct?"

Moxxie raised his head upon hearing that.

"Oh...yeah...that seems so long ago…"

"...Okay...Anyways, yeah, it's coming back to me. You guys were following- wait, where is Blitzo?"

Moxxie's mood seemed to dampen a bit.

"Well...he kind of got into some trouble with the royalty, so...he's being transported in another one of these floaty car things, except he and Loona are prisoners."

"Prisoners?" Adams questioned. "What did he do?"

Moxxie shrugged.

"No idea, but he isn't paying our salary anymore, so who cares?"

Her face contorted into a menacing grin.

"I just want to kill something. And these guys offered me that opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Adams decided that as soon as the expedition stopped at a new destination, he and Annie would be finding a new transport vehicle to ride on.

Suddenly, Moxxie raised his head, peering at something behind Adams.

"What the...fuck is this?!"

Adams couldn't help but turn his head to see what the fuss was about. His jaw dropped as his eyes were assaulted with the fuckfest that was the new landscape they were crossing over.

"What the fuck?"

As the vehicles crossed the line between the black marbled ground onto the bizarre landscape before them, there was a noticeable shift in mood as the entirety of the expedition felt a sort of anxious tension wash over them. They were now in a place they had never seen before, in circumstances that made them...vulnerable. And they knew it.

As they sailed through, they were only more bewildered and frightened by the environment. The land was all mismatched, like jigsaw pieces put in the wrong places. All types of terrains, atmospheres, weather conditions and environments melded together like some sort of bizarre super-biome. The expedition passed through snow, thunderstorms, clear skies, and acid rain all within a single minute. Fog was recurring and disappearing constantly, which got many drivers lost in certain biomes very often.

Worse, creatures and animals of all kinds were residing in some of these biomes, and often many attacked the vehicles.

"Holy shit, this fucking sucks!"

Moxxie was the first to criticize the situation.

"Does this place have any fucking relevance to the actual reason I'm in hell? This whole ordeal is retarded."

Adams was the second.

Due to the constant attacks from the creatures in these biomes, the expedition decided to take liberties with their hovercrafts and flew at a much higher altitude for most biomes, avoiding low-hanging storms and such.

"Wait, what is that?" Annie questioned, squinting to look beyond the jumbled mess of environments. She noticed something bright on the horizon.

And just suddenly, as if out of nowhere-

_**BOOOOOOOOOM!**_

All four demons looked back in shock as they watched one of the carriers exploded in the air, falling towards the ground in a flaming wreckage.

"OH MY GOD, HARRIS, NO!"

Several soldiers, both demons and UAC, shouted in shock, horror and wailing agony as they watched one of their squads die without any warning. Hayden's cold, searing voice suddenly came in through nearby speakers.

"_Deflect the expedition team to the right, and find out what caused that explosion."_

"_DEMONS, SIR! IT WAS DEMONS!"_

A soldier's panicked message cut through into the comms and frightened everyone.

"_Demons?!"_

"_But...the Doom Slayer isn't here!"_

"_What the hell are we gonna do?!"_

The soldiers began to panic over the comms, mumbling and muttering in fear as everyone was paralyzed with terror.

_Whiizzzz-_

A fireball had just barely scraped by one of the transporters, causing the crew inside to shout in terror, others screaming in pain as the pain flames seared their skin.

The panic was growing. Many transporters' crews were desperately shooting downwards with their rifles in hopes of killing whatever was launching those things at them.

* * *

"Oh, Loona, would you look at all that!"

Loona growled in frustration from hearing Blitzo's patronizing voice yet again, trying to plug her ears. Their transporter was a big cage with an auto-driver.

"Would you shut the fuck up and leave me to sleep?"

"Not interested in seeing the carnage? What a looper you are."

Loona ignored him and tried to tuck up against her side of the cage, leaving Blitzo to sigh.

"Alright, ya dumb bitch, if you wanna be a pussy and not watch your death coming, be my tick-covered guest."

He watched with a malicious grin as the passengers of the other vehicles screamed and panicked in terror at the incoming barrages.

"Things got a lot more interesting, for sure."

* * *

"Someone should look over the transporter and see what the hell is shooting _fireballs_ at us!"

Having said that, Angel was more so _looking _for someone else to do that than for him to actually do it himself. He, Angel, Niffty, Vaggie, Charlie and Benny were all in the same carrier. Despite sharing the same vehicle as royalty, he didn't feel any sort of extra protection from being inside this carrier. He remembered Charlie once telling him that no one actually cared about her title, and he was starting to wonder if that was true in _all _categories, especially SAFETY.

He suddenly heard Hayden's robotic voice chime in through their speakers once more.

"_Not necessary. My drones surveyed the land below - It's a demonic outpost."_

"Are you telling me they have fucking _outposts_?" Husk said in outrage. "Are they a fucking standing military?!"

Charlie looked to Benny, whose face was grim set. He was still focusing on the other carriers, as he had been calling out certain barrages, watched where they were heading towards, and told certain carriers to move out of the way from the attacks.

"Don't they have fuckin' tail guns on this thing? Something we can shoot down at them with?!" Husk questioned in anger. "For fuck's sake, I'm not gonna go down defenseless, damn it!"

Once more, Hayden's voice popped in.

"_There is a function for the passengers of each carrier. Find the console on the back of the driver's seat."_

Everyone looked at the console attached to the small wall separating the driver and the passengers. Angel crawled up to it. It was an interactable screen.

"Okay, now what?" He asked nervously.

"_Swipe to the right until you find the 'deploy machine gun placements' option."_

"Wow, that's really obvious."

"_I make them suited towards the audience."_

Angel elected to ignore that scathing insult, considering the volatile situation he was in. He swiped to the right until he found the option, then tapped the screen several times. It seemed to be lagging in its response time, so Angel helped it along by fervently smacking the screen until he cracked the screen.

Nonetheless, holes opened up all around the carrier, with the protective guardrails around the carrier moving aside to make room for the machine guns emerging from the holes.

"_You and the Doom Slayer both seem to share the same brutish trait of breaking things and somehow having things work out in the end." _Hayden said sardonically over the comms.

"Heh, don't get snarky, you robot prick." Angel replied snarkily, taking a hold of one of the machine guns. "I'm on this journey for fun!"

_**BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!**_

Angel sprayed a cascade of bullets down into the landscape, seemingly not aiming.

"YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT, YOU SCALY FUCKS?!" He shouted and yipped in delight.

"That was extremely rude, you speciesist bastard!"

That voice sounded familiar to Angel, who raised his head in curiosity and looked to the left, towards the carrier behind them.

"Hoooly shit- Is that the fuckin' Snake Guy? Uh, what's his name-"

"Sir Pentious?" Charlie piped up. She remembered seeing him pop up on television when she was trying to get her hotel advertised.

_Her hotel…_

Even in the midst of aerial chaos, Charlie couldn't help but reflect on the past week. So much had happened...she had forgotten all about the hotel. No longer was she fighting to get demons to repent, but now to protect Hell and all of its residents.

"Yeah! That's the guy. Hey, how the fuck is he here? Didn't he get fucked up by the Strawberry Pimp a while ago?"

_**BOOOOOOOOM!**_

Another carrier was hit, its flaming remains falling to the land below. This caused more panic on the carriers as people shouted and cried out in despair. Angel took this moment to press down on the comms button and speak into it.

"Hey numbnuts, if the robot didn't tell ya, you better go to those consoles in front of ya and start swiping right. You'll be able to get those machine guns out and then ya won't be so busy wailin' like little bitches."

As soon as the announcement was made, several carriers began deploying these machine gun placements, and the air was deafened by the sound of a constant barrage of machine gun fire.

_**BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-**_"_I need ALL carriers to pull down and land!"__**BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-**_"_It's too risky to stay in the air!"__**BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!**_

Nobody could hear anything over the constant barrage of machine-gun fire, and it remained like that for several seconds, with more and more carriers getting shot down, one by one.

"_PULL DOWN TO THE GROUND!"_

Hayden's voice rang through the speakers, the volume turned up drastically so that the orders rang louder in everyone's ears than the machine-gun fire. However, it did the trick, and the carriers moved in unison to find a place to land on the ground.

As they approached ground level, the frontmost carriers, one of which contained Adams' crew, seemed to realize that they were within the boundaries of the demonic outpost, and were about to pull out.

"_DO NOT LEAVE!" _Hayden shouted through the speakers. "_WE WILL TAKE MORE LOSSES BY GOING BACK UP INTO THE AIR! DEPLOY NOW AND BEGIN PURGING!"_

"Are you _fucking _insane?!" Husk shouted into the radio. "We're going to get _slaughtered _out here!"

_Pssshhhhhh!_

Suddenly, the sides of the carriers opened up, and out came racks of various weaponry, from LMGs to assault rifles to shotguns to snipers. Charlie and the others looked at the weapons in bewilderment.

"What the-"

"_Choose your weapon. If you die, might as well do so fighting."_

That memo did nothing to help the morale of the expedition, but nonetheless people that weren't soldiers began grabbing these weapons quickly.

"They're coming over! Look!" One soldier shouted as he pointed downhill towards the center of the outpost, where several demons were congregating and gathering to attack.

"_I'd advise you all to start shooting."_

The sound of Hayden's cold, steely voice made Charlie angry, realizing that he held no remorse if any of them died during this attack. She stormed over to the rack quickly, taking up an assault rifle. Benny looked at her in shock.

"M-Miss Charlotte, what are you doing?!" He exclaimed.

Charlie marched over towards the front line until she got a sight on the demons. Everyone else watched as she did so, their eyes wide with fear and shock. She pressed the stock against her shoulder, aiming down the sights. Husk grinned as he watched her pull the trigger.

_**BRAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!**_

The bullets whizzed through the air, and in the distance everyone could see clouds of blood shoot out from the demons that took the shots. As a few fell over dead, the rest began rushing towards the expedition. Charlie looked around at everyone, a steely determination in her eyes. She raised one arm, balling her fist and thrusting it into the air.

"LET'S TEAR THEM TO BITS!" She shouted, her demonic side revving up as she did this. It worked, as everyone else raised their fists up, their spirits heightened.

"_**YEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**_

And within seconds, they, too, fired their weapons. And the air was once more filled with the deafening sound of gunfire.

_**BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!**_

In that moment, Charlie could not think. Her head was filled with nothing but the sounds of gunfire, of screaming and yelling and hollering; The bullet casings flew by her eyes as they ejected onto the ground; She saw fireballs fly by her, exploding into the ground near the others, blowing some to bits and throwing others around with the shockwave.

She just kept shooting.

She saw her friends moving around her, people yelling as their limbs were blown off, or their friends were killed by stray bullets; She could faintly hear the sound of someone laughing maniacally in the background, for what purpose she had no idea.

She just kept shooting.

And wh_en consciousness began to waiver, when she wasn't sure if she was shooting or reloading or taking cover from a bombardment, when she had no idea if her side was winning or losing, how many lives had been lost in this needless conflict,_

_She just kept on shooting._

_Eventually, she witnessed the demon horde finally reach them, slamming into the ranks of soldiers and support troops, tearing them apart._

* * *

"FUUUUUCK THIS! FUCK ALL OF THIS!" Adams shouted, ducking and weaving between the bombardments of fireballs that exploded near him every other second. Whenever he had a chance to fire, he would shoot desperately and haphazardly with the single pistol he had picked up from one of the arsenals that had suddenly appeared in front of him and everyone else. Annie was not far behind him, carrying a light machine gun and laying into the horde with the barrages of heavy gunfire. Whenever a demon got up the hill and too close to either of them, she whipped out her shotgun and blew their faces off.

"IT'S OKAY, RILEY! WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE!" She shouted over the sounds of battle and carnage. Despite her good intentions, Adams felt like this really wasn't the time for pep talks.

Eventually, he found a rock to hide behind and dove for it, desperately trying to scrunch himself down behind it as much as possible to avoid all the chaos.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUUUUUCK!" He shouted in sheer terror, shaking violently as he watched the scene of pandemonium before him. Demons were tearing through the expedition team, throwing them around, impaling them, crushing them underfoot, setting them on fire - It was a complete massacre.

He watched one of the demons on his side, a very tall spider-looking creature, slink away, holding some sort of tome in his arms, but that quickly left his attention as he saw one of the enemy demons, standing monstrously tall, its skin crimson red and with hooves for feet. It raked its hooves across the ground, roaring ferociously as it seemed to lock onto Adams. It began charging, much to Adams' horror.

"FUCK, SHIT!" Adams shouted desperately as he aimed his pistol at the incoming demon and pulled the trigger.

_Click, click, click._

"Wha…"

Adams' voice fell flat as he realized the pistol in his hand was empty. He looked back up to see the demon only a few meters away at this point, about to run him over in the next moment.

_Is this really how I die? _He asked himself. _I don't want to die in this pathetic state-_

_**BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-BRRRRT!**_

His train of thought was impaired by the deafening gunfire that erupted from his left. He flinched at the sudden burst, but watched as the towering demon before them came falling down to the ground, his face and chest torn apart by the heavy machine gun fire. Adams looked over his left shoulder to see Annie standing over him, sweating as she held the LMG in both hands.

"I said…*huff*...we'll get out of this alive, didn't I?" She asserted, cracking a smile at him.

"I love you so much!" Adams wailed. However, his victory was short-lived, as he saw another, even bigger and redder demon emerge from the hill behind Annie so suddenly. He was paralyzed with fear as he looked into its glowing, menacing eyes as the demon conjured a fireball into its hands.

It craned its arm back, preparing to throw the fireball. Adams realized where he was aiming.

And in a moment, he scrambled to his feet, pushing Annie to the side.

_**FWOOOSH!**_

The next moments were of absolute, indescribable agony. Adams could only scream as his skin burned and boiled as the flaming-hot fireball collided directly into him and exploded. He fell to the ground, convulsing as the flames engulfed his entire body. He could not think. He could not talk. He could not move of his own will.

He could only flail and scream.

"OH, GOD, RILEY!" Annie screamed in horror, paralyzed with shock and terror as she watched Adams flail around on the ground, the flames attached to his body like napalm. She ran over, throwing herself onto him in a vain attempt to try and stoke the fire, only to then light herself on fire when the flames jumped onto her clothing.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed, now engulfed in the same flames as Adams.

Moxxie, who had witnessed the horrific display, ran around desperately, looking for something to put them out with, while Millie protected him, shooting and killing anything that came close to threatening his life.

The fight began to close in as more and more demons and UAC personnel on Charlie's side began to dwindle in fighting numbers, with people being struck down left and right. While they had gained the initial advantage in an uphill battle, the demons far outmatched them in combat ability, and had caught them while they were vulnerable.

Charlie, who had recovered from the initial engagement, could not help but feel an overwhelming despair as she watched those she had intended to protect fall around her. The situation was hopeless, and she started to realize the true meaning of **despair **as her side continued to dwindle.

Charlie looked all around her. The faces of those she knew. Husk, Niffty, Vaggie, Benny - All of them had been fighting, yet all of their faces were filled with the same level of despair. She saw mounting fear in Vaggie's face especially, likely because she was terrified about where she would be going if she died.

And yet, she didn't see Angel anywhere.

_Whizz- __**BOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Charlie was suddenly thrown to the side by the shockwave of a nearby fireball exploding into the ground, the assault rifle flying out of her hand. Disoriented, she tried to look around, though her vision was greatly impaired in the effort. Despite this, she barely made out something standing above her, one of the enemy demons. It had some sort of mechanical thing on its back, and its gnarled hands were held out in front of its body. It looked down at her with malicious contempt in its eyes, and powered up its weapons, aiming them at her as she could do nothing but struggle on the ground.

_Zip!_

And within the next second, the demon straightened, as if hit by something, and fell over backwards, collapsing on the ground. Charlie's vision cleared a bit, and she looked towards the opposite direction in confusion.

There stood Angel, and on both sides of him were a number of very powerful demons that Charlie knew about.

"Alright, let's go fuck these suckers up!" Angel shouted, which was then followed by the raucous shouting of the sudden compatriots that had shown up for battle.

The following minutes were marked by the reinforcements, who began to take down the hordes that had descended upon them with relative ease. To Charlie, it was like seeing two giants fight. The combat ability of these powerful demons she knew, nobles and warlords, was comparable, if not better than the demons they were facing in battle currently.

As the expedition crew watched these demons fight in their place, they began to fall back, resting and recovering as the new demons took over the battle.

And within a minute or two more, the battle had finally ended. Bodies from both sides littered the battle grounds, blood stained almost every patch that could be seen, limbs and organs were more plentiful than the bodies.

Having recovered from her disorientation, Charlie got up on her feet and began walking around, almost in shell-shock. While the powerful demons drove off the enemy demons, the expedition crew was trying to recover as well as they could from that lethal encounter. Several members went about trying to give medical treatment where they could, while others cried or laughed nervously in grief and relief. Some of the crew mourned over the bodies of those they knew.

As Charlie found a rock to sit on, she groaned, then looked down at her side. There was a small gunshot wound to the right of her abdomen. She knew that she was a quick healer, but the pain was an inconvenience at this current moment.

"Hey, uh...you doin' okay?"

Charlie looked up to see Angel approaching, holding some sort of book in his hand. His hands, arms and face were covered in blood, as well as most of his clothing.

"What….happened? Why did...these demons show up? How did they do that?" Charlie questioned, looking back at the powerful demons she had known for a long time. Angel cracked a half-grin.

"Well, I signed a contract with these fellows and fellas, which agreed that in exchange for saving Hell's ass from getting invaded, they would be called on to help by _me _if I ever thought that there would be a situation in which we were about to get majorly fucked."

"Wha...how did you manage to get _all of them _to agree to that contract?" Charlie inquired, even more curious now. The demon war lords and nobles she knew would never sign a contract with somebody for any sort of obligation, no matter how miniscule. Angel grinned fully this time.

"I told them that whoever answered the call to battle would grow their influence and power when every other demon in Hell sees them as a hero."

Charlie bowed her head. If this wasn't such a morbid, horrible situation they were in, she would have chuckled at that.

"Well…" Charlie muttered. "I suppose we won…"

Angel nodded solemnly, though Charlie could tell he didn't believe her statement.

"I'm gonna go check on the victims. One of the demons I summoned is really good with healing, so...if anyone is alive and injured, I'll get her on it. Namely those two that I saw get burned up from a fireball."

Charlie nodded, and Angel ran off. Charlie had no idea when Angel had become such a team player, but she appreciated his help, nonetheless. As she recovered her breathe from the massive fatigue she had suffered during the battle, she didn't dare to look around at the aftermath of the battle. She feared she would get flashbacks to the other times she had been in the aftermath of a battle, either with the Doom Slayer or the demons from his dimension.

She instead chose to look at the ground, and think about her situation. And soon she realized that what she had said only a few moments ago, she had lied about completely.

They had not won, not in the slightest...only survived. This time.


	23. HE SCOURED THE UMBRAL PLAINS

**Chapter 23: HE SCOURED THE UMBRAL PLAINS…**

A few hours after recovering from the battle, the expedition crew numbers were looking 'less than optimal', according to Hayden. Even more worrisome were the two imps that had escaped from their captivity during the chaos of the battle. However, considering the landscape they were on, and how they had no idea where they were, Hayden did not expect them to survive long.

"_Since the demons were so kind as to already have built an outpost here, we should use it for recovery for now."_ He stated.

"I didn't know these fuckin' monsters were capable of building infrastructure…" Husk muttered.

"The place is covered in blood and gore, as well." Seymour said aloud.

"_I suggest you utilize your janitorial skills, then." _Hayden replied. "_Or just ignore it, for now. We don't plan to stay here long."_

And so, the expedition set down camp for now. Hayden beckoned Benny, Charlie and her entourage over to his portable abode, along with Annie and Adams, who had been surprisingly well-patched up for their burn wounds, though their mental trauma had not been forgotten.

Once they all entered, everyone began to murmur at the arsenal that seemed to lay before them. There were several armored suits and weaponry set up at the opposite end of the abode. Furthermore, there was a UAC soldier standing next to them, his burly arms crossed in front of him.

"_Good to have you all here, once more." _Hayden said. "_Now, let us make this short."_

He waved his bionic arm over to the arsenal.

"_I wanted to start first by introducing you particular...individuals-"_

Charlie had a feeling he was trying not to say 'demon' or something insulting.

"_-To these suits I had prepared before the expedition. They are combat-oriented, and will fit each of you accordingly by adjusting around your frame."_

"I noticed you changed your own body up, too, huh?" Niffty pointed out. Charlie's eyes furrowed in confusion, then she realized what Niffty was talking about.

Hayden's bionic body had indeed changed. His joints were no longer exposed, but instead covered by flexible armored plating; The rest of his bionic parts were covered by rigid armored plating of a different kind, and his head had two blue slits instead of one, as well as noticeable armored plating around his neck and head.

"Man, you really went all out with your design, huh?" Angel remarked. Hayden emitted a noise similar to a snicker.

"_These advancements are necessary in the oncoming fight against the demonic forces." _He replied. "_Now, each of these suits and weapons are specialized towards a certain role in combat. The roles that are available are: Two snipers, two machine-gunners, one field medic, one heavy ordnance, and two shock troops."_

"Woah, shock troops, that sounds pretty awesome." Angel remarked, his eyes gleaming over the impressive-looking gear that Hayden pointed towards.

"_It is not as enjoyable as you may think." _Hayden replied. "_This role requires you to break through the lines of the enemy in order to destroy their cohesion, then quickly retreat. It is the most dangerous role of all those available to you."_

Everyone fell silent at that sentence. Now that their lives were actually on the line once more, no one was willing to step up to the plate for this role.

"Why do we need these suits and weapons?" Vaggie questioned. Charlie was happy to see her speaking again. It had been so long since she spoke aloud. "We're demons. We have powers and abilities to help us in combat."

Hayden's raspy chuckle in response sent chills down Charlie's spine.

"_If you think you can go toe to toe with these demonic forces, that you can dodge and weave every single shot they take at you, that you can kill these things without being overrun and torn to shreds by the hordes of lesser demons, then leave this abode and take your chances."_

For every response they had, he was equipped with an answer. Charlie surmised that Hayden sounded experienced in this particular answer he gave, which only put her on edge even more.

"I'll take a shock troop suit."

Charlie's eyes widened as she heard Benny's voice pipe up.

"Wha-? No, Benny, what are you doing?!"

Benny looked to her with a grim expression on his face.

"There are eight of us here, and eight suits. This isn't a coincidence. If he designed the shock troop suits, that means they will be needed for what is to come."

Despite Charlie's vocal protests, he walked over to one of the suits and put his hand on it. The suit began to expand, like an Iron-man suit, and formed around his body, eventually reasserting itself back to a rigid state once it finished.

As this happened, Charlie saw Vaggie flash by her towards the other suit.

"Vaggie! Hell no, you can't-!"

Charlie watched helplessly as Vaggie put on the other suit, grabbing the shield and spear that came with it.

"Why…?" Charlie muttered, feeling hopeless once more. Ever since the Doom Slayer had come along, she had watched the life she had set for herself unfold like a tragedy. Her beloved demons, of whom she wanted to repent so they could find a good afterlife in Heaven, were being killed in droves with no way of coming back. Her world was being invaded by an even worse, more dangerous hybrid of demons that wanted nothing but actual torture and suffering for her people.

And now, her two most beloved companions were signing themselves up for a death mission.

Vaggie noticed the gaze of despair and outrage that Charlie was giving her, and ducked her head.

"I...this isn't about trying to die in glory or anything like that, Charlie. I just believe that this combat role is what is suited best towards my abilities."

She looked back up at Charlie, with determination filling her eyes.

"If we can get rid of this threat and finally get you that wish of getting everyone to Heaven, don't you think we have to put our all into this? I am not good with guns, or healing people. I am just good at fighting in melee combat. And I want to do what I can to get rid of these fuckers so we can finally reach that goal."

"_Yes." _Hayden interjected. "_After all, I did not say these roles were suicidal. In fact, they are one of the most safe, if you consider it from another perspective. The shock troops only have to play a role in attacking occasionally and defending, mostly. Which means whenever they are NOT committing to shock and awe, the focus will be on the troops firing at them."_

He turned his head as the two blue slits in his head focused on Charlie.

"_That being said", _He continued. "_The shock troops suits I augmented to mirror the versatile nature of the Doom Slayer. The users will be able to sprint, jump and climb much more quickly than their bodies would previously allow. However, every other suit does not impede the abilities of those wearing them, but rather proves to be a protective coating around the body."_

He gestured to the remaining suits.

"_Now, choose your suits."_

* * *

After having assigned a number of lower-ranking soldiers to various assignments around the outpost, Seymour walked a bit aways from the encampment and found a little hill in a grassy area. He looked over the horizon, seeing the landscapes meld together in the most bizarre fashions.

This situation seemed unwinnable to Seymour. The attack from earlier almost killed his closest friends, and led to the deaths of many soldiers he knew and cared about. All while Hayden continued driving them forward, towards this portal where all the biggest, baddest demons were.

Seymour couldn't help the flood of questions invading his mind. Why did they have to come along? Why couldn't they just send the Doom Slayer and a few other people?

He laid his rifle next to him as he sat on that hill, pondering a line of questions and coming up with his own answers. He had spent so much time, so many years as a soldier, both on Earth and in Hell. When he had first arrived here, he didn't expect there to be a standing military, a somewhat-organized society.

But along the way, he had made friends like Dusty, like Steadman and Bricks. And he valued them deeply. In this society of degenerates and cutthroats, he savored the friends he had even more than he did on Earth.

"I wish...I just wish I could get them away from all this. I wish I could keep them somewhere safe, until this shit passes."

"_**You look...troubled." **_

Seymour whipped his head around to see a short, gray-skinned individual, with the garments of some kind of clergyman for the devil. His sclera was red, and his beady, black eyes focused on Seymour with a sort of hyper-focus.

"Who the fuck are you?" Seymour questioned. He would have moved to pick up his rifle, but it was lying at the feet of the individual that had approached him. The creature looked down at the rifle, then cackled.

"_**I'm not here to hurt you, Seymour."**_ He hissed. "_**I have a proposition, in fact."**_

In one gnarled claw he carried some type of scepter. He used his other to beckon Seymour closer.

"_**Do not be afraid, Seymour. You can call me 'Crea', and I overheard a problem of yours that you had."**_

Seymour kept his eyes on Crea cautiously.

"Okay…" He said, waiting for him to continue talking. Crea smiled without revealing his teeth.

"_**I heard that you wanted to keep someone...safe?"**_


	24. SEEKING VENGEANCE AGAINST

_Pre-Chapter Notes_

\- To alert people that have already read this chapter, I deleted the last chapter and put in the new one. That's because I re-edited the fight scene (for those that have already read this chapter, skip to that part to read the new action and dialogue included)

\- To those that were hyped for a new chapter but only got a repeat, do not worry: The next chapter is coming out VERY soon to make up for this.

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 24: SEEKING VENGEANCE AGAINST…**

After a few hours, the expedition packed up once more and began moving in the direction of the Doom Slayer, according to Hayden's predictions. Now that everyone realized just how integral the Doom Slayer was to their survival, their first priority was finding him and sticking with him.

Angel had returned the demons that had helped them in the battle back to where they came from with another incantation.

"Call us back if you need us anytime in the future." One of them, a very tall and well-dressed female, had said. "We are always willing to fight to preserve what we have down here."

And with that, the last of them vanished into thin air, having gone back to where they had come from.

As the expedition continued forward in a number of minutes, having flown back up into the sky, they deployed certain soldiers to keep track of the land below them, to prevent another surprise attack. However, as they were passing through the terrain, they reported that several of the demonic outposts stationed were shredded completely, likely the result of the Doom Slayer passing by.

"We need him with us…" One of the soldiers muttered as they flew over the decimated remains. "We need the Doom Slayer with us…"

And after a few more dozen or so minutes of flying, there was shouting at the front of the formation.

"_Who is screaming over the communications line, and why?" _Hayden's sharp voice came through the comms.

"_WE FOUND HIM! WE FOUND THE DOOM SLAYER! THANK GOD!" _

The radios were momentarily filled with the sounds of the expedition crew yipping and cheering in excitement. Adams, who had spent the majority of the flight groaning in mild pain as the searing burns from the earlier battle were still stinging, decided to peek over the transporter vehicle. His eyebrows furrowed.

The Doom Slayer was just...standing. And before him, a vast sea of fog permeated the ground in front of him.

And thus, the expedition flew down to the ground a dozen or so meters behind the Doom Slayer, departing from their floating boats and running over to the Doom Slayer.

Charlie wasn't sure how to feel as she saw both demons and UAC personnel kneeling before him, weapons in hand. It seemed as if the Doom Slayer had amassed his own fanatical army without much effort.

But that didn't matter to Charlie. She could tolerate all of this, as long as the end goal remained, and these monsters they were fighting were purged from this Hell for good.

"Lord Slayer," One of the demon soldiers spoke up. "May I ask what you are looking at?"

_Lord Slayer?! _Charlie thought in offense. That stung. It really seemed as if no one cared about the authority of the Princess of Hell after all.

And yet, the Slayer did not answer, instead keeping his gaze on the dense fog before them. Hayden, who had climbed out of his own transporter and walked over, was also keeping his eye on the fog.

"_The Doom Slayer may be sensing a demonic presence within this fog." _He said ominously. "_And it may be one that we must destroy."_

"It doesn't matter _what _we face!" One UAC personnel shouted. "As long as the Doom Slayer is leading us!"

His outcry was met with a roar of approval and shouts from the rest of the soldiers, who raised their weapons into the air. Hayden looked back at his UAC soldiers and emitted what could be perceived to be a frustrated sigh.

"_Your loyalties shifted easily, didn't they?" _He muttered. "_No matter."_

He pointed to Angel, Charlie, and the rest of the 'Task Force' that he had issued the suits to. That's what he called them now, 'Task Force Members'.

"_Gather round." _He ordered. They all came forward in their suits. "_I intend to reiterate your roles once more, so that you understand what you will be doing in order to assist in combating the demonic forces."_

"Get on with it, then." Angel huffed. He was pissed because the suit, which was supposed to 'form around his frame', did not consider the tuft of fur on his chest to be 'frame', and so had stuffed it against his chest, which was pretty uncomfortable for him.

After Hayden gave him the stink eye (or the robot equivalent), he diverted his attention back to the group.

"_Miss Charlotte and Annie are the heads of the sniper team. In any engagement, and if you can do it beforehand, you find a place with high ground and a good view of the battlefield. You will be keeping overwatch, taking out key figures or dangerous combatants on the enemy side. You will also report to me, the Doom Slayer and Captain Benson of the current situation on the battlefield or otherwise on an occasional basis."_

Charlie and Annie nodded their heads. Both of them had been given as much training as was possible when they chose their suits by both Hayden and Benny's sniper specialists. They had a pretty standard understanding of the weapons by now, but that now meant they had to practice and get used to these roles as time went on.

"_Husk, Angel: You two are the head of the machine-gunners team. That means you have control of the main source of our firepower (besides the Doom Slayer). You will coordinate to find where the enemy is most strong or most weak, and decide which would be better to focus your fire towards. You will also report to me, the Doom Slayer and Captain Benson on the situation with your team, the battlefield, the enemy and yourselves."_

Husk and Angel nodded. And as Charlie had noticed, for the first time she had ever seen, Husk had a big smile on his face.

"I feel like I'm back in 'Nam." He said with a chuckle. "This old dog still has some kick to him!"

Hayden then turned his attention towards Vaggie and Captain Benny.

"_You two have a very important task ahead of you, as it has been outlined beforehand to you. As shock troops, you will be 'cavalry' of this expedition. The only two, in fact, besides the Doom Slayer. You are expected to find weak points within the demonic forces and break through them, slaughtering as many of the most dangerous and most valued on the side of the enemy, then retreat quickly before they gather up and overrun you. Whenever you are NOT breaking through enemy lines, you are protecting our valued assets, which include the sniper team, the heavy artillery radioman, and the field medic."_

"And what about the Doom Slayer?" Vaggie asked him. "How do we help him? Should we stay by him during the cavalry charges?"

Hayden emitted a very resounding laugh.

"_You can try. Would you garner that the Slayer needs help in his slaying?"_

Vaggie fell silent after that question. Hayden then turned towards Niffty and Adams.

"_Miss...Nifty," _He began. "_You are the field medic. I believe your job is relatively self-explanatory. Stay close to each team whenever you can. Since you are our ONLY field medic, I had created a sort of 'all-in-one' healing device."_

He turned towards one of the expedition members and beckoned with his bionic hand. The UAC researcher rushed forward, unfurling something out of a duffel bag and handing it to Hayden, who then presented it to Niffty.

It was a device in the shape of a blunderbuss. However, the end of the device had four little prongs with pads at the end of them.

"_This medical device has five functions: Biogel, Surgery, Stabilizer, Synthesis and Microbots. The 'Biogel' option is where you place the end of the barrel of the device against the patient and hold the trigger down. The biogel, which is a coagulant and light tissue repair adhesive, will pool at the end of the barrel like glue. You will then drag the end of the barrel against all parts of the wound, which are limited only to lacerations and burns. The 'Surgery' option is for deep wounds, stabs, or anything that causes internal problems within the body. You will place the four prongs on the area around the wound, and then pull the trigger, and the end of the barrel will begin doing surgery at a very fast pace. Keep in mind that you cannot pull away or move the device or you will rip out the small tools in the midst of their work, which will not be very good for the patient's health or pain."_

Niffty bobbed her head up and down.

"Yes, sir!" She exclaimed, saluting him.

"_...As I was saying. The 'Stabilizer' option should only be used when a patient is in critical condition, as in dying or in shock. You will once more press the prongs against either the patient's chest, arms or legs. The end of the barrel will administer small doses of epinephrine and another solution I concocted for the demons that will stabilize their internal systems and prevent immediate death. As for the 'Synthesis' option: You should only use this option if the patient at hand is missing large parts of their flesh, bone, muscle and/or sinew. In other words, if the patient has a large hole in their body from getting impaled, you will place the end of the barrel against the wound, and pull the trigger. The end of the barrel will then deploy chunks of synthetic flesh, which will bond with the patient's current flesh and create copies of the same type of skin, muscle, cartilage, etcetera and mold against it."_

"Holy fucking shit," Angel interjected. "How much shit can that gun do?"

"_And finally," _Hayden continued, ignoring Angel. "_The 'Microbots' option. You will place the prongs around an area where a vein is exposed. Once that is done, press the barrel against the vein and pull the trigger. The barrel will prick the skin and enter the vein with a small syringe, and inject a cluster of microscopic bots that will speed up the general healing process of the body."_

"Oh, so there's no medical explanation behind that option?" Angel said snarkily. Hayden turned his two beaming blue slits towards Angel.

"_We do not have time for every little point of banter you want to share."_

Angel was about to respond to that, then failed to find something snarky enough to respond with. And so, he fell into a pouting silence. Hayden turned back to Niffty.

"_You only have a limited amount of Biogel, Synthetic Flesh, Stabilizer fluid and Microbots. Do not overuse this device, use it sparingly. Only on those with serious wounds."_

Niffty bobbed her head up and down once more.

"I will be a very responsible field medic!" She declared. Hayden handed her the device, and her eyes shined brightly as she looked over it.

"_Now," _Hayden said, standing up. "_For the last role. Adams-"_

He turned to Adams, who had spaced out on most of the conversation. He snapped back to reality once Hayden turned the intimidating gaze upon him.

"Y-Yes?" He responded.

"_You are the Heavy Ordnance radioman. Your role is to find the biggest volume of demonic forces and coordinate the artillery to fire on those positions."_

"Wait, artillery?" Adams questioned. "I didn't see any artillery when we were on the boats."

Hayden turned around, facing his UAC personnel, and beckoned them towards the transporter vehicles. They ran over and began dismantling the vehicles in big parts, then reassembling them within seconds. Adams watched in amazement as the transporter vehicles turned from floating boats into smaller, similar versions of Howitzers, mortar placements and futuristic-looking artillery pieces.

"Holy shit." Adams muttered. "What kind of advancements has mankind made since I died?"

Hayden turned back to him.

"_Not enough." _He responded. "_Back to the point: We will have a number of crew members man these artillery pieces. You will coordinate their bombing positions through this."_

He reached into the same duffel bag that had the medical device in it and brought out another device that looked similar to a large iPad. He handed it to Adams, who looked over the device.

"_That," _Hayden started. "_Will map out the terrain before you. You will be required to find a very high ground with a clear view, the same as the snipers, in order to scan the large area before you. Once that is finished, a three-dimensional hologram map will come from the screen, which is interactable and will allow you to pinpoint very specific locations on the map. You will press on these positions, use your fingers to widen or lessen the area of bombardment, then initiate the attack by telling the artillery team to fire on that specific position."_

With every word that Hayden spoke, Adams began to get more and more excited as he looked over the device.

"Wait, so wherever I press, and with just a few words, I can _level _any part of the battlefield?!"

Hayden nodded his head.

"_This is a very trusting position I have offered you. I expect you to carry your duty out with the utmost responsibility. In fact, it is most important to YOU that you understand where the rest of the expedition crew is so that you do not fire on any friendlies at any time."_

Adams' face grew serious. Perhaps it was the sudden responsibility he was given, or the implications of the job he had, but he had suddenly changed his demeanor. He carried the device under one arm.

"I won't let you down." He stated. Hayden nodded his head.

"_I wish we had time to practice all of this, but we may be facing a very great enemy right now."_

"What makes you say that?" Charlie asked him. Hayden looked to the Doom Slayer, who was still standing there, looking into the fog.

"_The Doom Slayer never pauses at the opportunity of killing demons. If he has stopped, it is because there is a great threat in front of us. He has paused not for his own well-being, but for ours."_

Charlie was taken aback from hearing that sentiment. She had never once before thought that the Doom Slayer actually was looking out for her and the others, especially considering that they were demons. She wasn't sure how to feel from hearing this, but decided to stay silent.

Hayden walked up to the ridge with the Doom Slayer, overlooking the fog.

"_I will deploy some fog clearance, if you so wish to view what is within."_

"_If we want to keep the rest of this expedition alive, we should revert those artillery pieces back into transporters and evacuate as soon as we can." _VEGA beeped from the Doom Slayer.

"_And why is that?" _Hayden inquired.

"_Clear the fog, and you may see why."_

While the sentence was foreboding, Hayden's ego won out. After all, having just set up all of these combat roles and devices, he was eager to watch them go to work.

"Hey, has anyone seen Seymour?"

As Hayden beckoned for UAC personnel to bring over the fog-clearing devices, Dusty was calling out for Seymour, asking other members of the expedition on his whereabouts.

"_Even if this threat is sizable," _Hayden persisted, taking up one of the fog-clearing devices, a small disk with holes in the sides. "_I believe I have utilized a large enough force to combat it, especially with the Doom Slayer involved."_

"_Samuel Hayden," _VEGA spoke up. "_This is not a smart idea."_

"_Nonsense." _Hayden insisted. "_I want to see my technology utilized, for fuck's sake!"_

"Seymour! Where are you?!" Dusty continued shouting, his panic growing more and more as time went on.

"I thought he had gotten on another transporter." Steadman commented.

"I thought that, too." Bricks added in.

"So did I." Dusty murmured. "Where is he, for the love of God?"

Hayden pressed a small button on top of the disc, then tossed it out into the fog. He was followed by the other UAC, who began doing the same.

"SEYMOUR? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Dusty shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone else in the expedition crew was attempting to locate Seymour as well.

Finally, the fog was beginning to clear. _And the sight before them was shocking._

Dozens- no, _hundreds _of Gore Nests littered the large, grassy, _bloodied _field before them. None of them seemed to be active, but the sight was nonetheless horrifying. Sculptures of bone, muscle, flesh and sinew, all arranged haphazardly around the area, all of them submerged in a very light pool of blood and gore.

"This is fucking disgusting!" Benny exclaimed, covering his mouth. "Who the hell would erect such a horrid display?!"

Hayden fell silent, and so VEGA answered his question.

"_Demons. Demons from OUR dimension."_

And just as that was said-

"Seymour?! Is that you?!"

Everyone looked to where Dusty was pointing, far across the giant field of gore, to another hill, which was slightly bigger than the one that the Doom Slayer and others were standing on. He seemed to be doing something next to a slightly taller, gray-skinned, well-dressed fellow.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Benny muttered. Even while squinting his eyes, he could just barely make out what Seymour and the other fellow were doing.

"Seymour? What are you doing all the way over there?"

Without hesitation, Dusty, followed by Steadman and Bricks, began running over towards Seymour, crossing the field of Gore Nests.

"_They shouldn't do that, that is definitely not a smart idea." _VEGA commented.

"What the hell are you idiots doing?!" Benny shouted at them. "Come back here, it's not safe!"

Meanwhile, Hayden turned around silently and hurried towards the artillery placements, beckoning his other UAC staff along with him.

"Seymour, you can't keep leaving us behind, dumbass!" Dusty shouted towards him as he tried to wallow through the gore and blood on the ground.

"Yeah, dude!" Steadman pitched in. "This isn't a one-man party. We gotta stick together or we'll get killed off!"

The Doom Slayer, who had been watching the entire ordeal, had his gaze set on Seymour, who was doing a blood ritual with the Hell Priest. His face turned back up, and the Doom Slayer could clearly see the corruption that was taking over.

His eyes were dilated, his sclera was gray, and his irises were blood-red. There were jagged lines running down his face and body, almost as if he were a ceramic doll that was about to break apart.

"Dusty...Steadman...Bricks…" Seymour choked out. "Don't...worry...I'm going…to keep...you...all...safe…"

The Hell Priest next to him finally finished the incantations he had been saying the entire time, raising and slamming his staff to the ground as he did so. Dark energy began to swirl around the area, flooding into the Gore Nests and swirling around his and Seymour's feet.

"_**Yes." **_Deag Crea cackled. "_**We will keep you safe."**_

And with that, he raised his staff high with both hands.

"What the hell are you doing, Seymour?!" Dusty shouted, trying to run faster through the field. Steadman and Bricks were beginning to lag behind. "Stop this! I don't know what you're doing, but it's clearly not good! Please, just-"

"It's…fine, Dusty..." Seymour choked out. Every word seemed to be a struggle to articulate. "It's just...a little...pain...to keep...you...safe…"

"_DISMANTLE THE ARTILLERY, QUICKLY!" _Hayden shouted. "_BACK TO TRANSPORTERS!"_

And then, the Hell Priest slammed down his staff.

"_**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

A deafening, demonic scream shattered the atmosphere and echoed across the entire landscape as every single Gore Nest came alive at once. Only a few seconds after, demons of all types popped out of thin air, screaming and cackling and roaring.

"What the fuck did that imp do?!" Benny shouted, terrified of the sheer number of demons that were spawning in the field. He turned quickly around towards his soldiers. "MEN, READY YOURSELVES!"

Seymour turned to the Hell Priest, the ritual having finished.

"And my friends? Dusty, Steadman, Bricks?"

The Hell Priest smiled, revealing several discolored fangs.

"_**Of course, I will ensure they are safe."**_

And with that, he waved his staff around, then pointed it at Dusty, Steadman and Bricks. The black energy began to flow towards them, snaking through the fields.

"Seymour, what have you done?!" Dusty shouted. "This is not-"

The energy then pooled at their feet, swirling around them. The Hell Priest's smile grew wider than before.

"_**I will make sure they stay safe." **_He cackled.

And he raised his staff.

The dark energy then shot into Dusty, Steadman and Bricks, piercing their skin and flowing into every orifice they had.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

They began to scream in agony, collapsing to the ground while they writhed in excruciating pain.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Seymour cried, turning to the Hell Priest.

"_**I'm ensuring their safety."**_

"THEY'RE SCREAMING, YOU FUCKIN' SHITHEAD!"

And they continued to scream. The dark energy began to pulse all over them. Their skin began to flake and crack. Their eyes turned pitch-black, and their teeth grew into elongated fangs. Their hands morphed into long, sharp claws, and the uniforms they were wearing tore apart as they began to grow in size. Their horns elongated and curved backwards.

As their screams turned into growls, Seymour watched in horror and despair as his friends turned into unrecognizable monsters.

"What...have you done...you...fucking…" Seymour cried, falling to his knees. The Hell Priest grinned even wider.

"_**In the state they are, they are almost completely invulnerable. The only way they can die now is if the Icon of Sin loses its power. They are...Hellhounds."**_

And without another word, he pointed his staff towards the Doom Slayer and the rest of his crew. The demonic forces, along with the former Dusty, Steadman and Bricks turned their sickly, red eyes towards them.

And they charged.

Upon seeing the overwhelming force of enemies charging at them, Benny turned around quickly, seeing Hayden assisting with the assembly of the transporters.

"HOW LONG TILL IT'S FINISHED?!" He shouted to Hayden over the cacophony of screams, howls and cackling of the demonic horde coming at them.

"_We just started! Hold off the demonic forces for as long as you can until we finish!"_

"How the hell are we going to stop all-"

Before Benny could finish the question, the Doom Slayer launched himself from the ground, unsheathing a very special weapon.

_VvvvvvvvvRRRRRRR-_

And he pulled the trigger.

_**BWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**_

An enormous green shot of energy catapulted from the BFG-9000, completely annihilating the first wave of demons in front of him. However, just as he landed on the ground, demons had already replaced most of those numbers from the sheer amount of spawning occurring around the Gore Nests.

But that did not matter to the Doom Slayer.

He jumped into the fray of combat, wielding both a chainsaw and an LMG as he blased and hacked his way through the masses of demons. A cacodemon, who had snuck up behind him, attempted to enclose its maw around him.

_**BLAM!**_

The Doom Slayer, in his ballet of demonic slaughter, had already blown the Cacodemon's face off by the time the demon was able to process its own demise. Meanwhile, more powerful demons began to emerge from the Gore Nests. Benny, who had been watching the Doom Slayer, noticed these demons, and began calling up his soldiers.

"FORM A LINE! HELP THE DOOM SLAYER! FIRE ON ANY DEMONS CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR HIM!"

The soldiers were shaking in their boots as they watched the literal waves of demons wash over the Doom Slayer, only to be hacked, shot and exploded to bits.

"SOLDIERS! GET THE FUCK UP AND HELP HIM OUT!"

Benny's shouting shattered the fearful trance that kept the soldiers paralyzed, and with much apprehension, they climbed up the hill and began firing upon the hordes of demons.

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

_**BRRRRRT-BRRRRT!**_

_**BOOOOOOM!**_

Even with all their firepower, the hordes only seemed to grow in numbers, all of them completely focused on taking down the Doom Slayer, who had become almost a mirage at this point with how fast he was moving around. And despite the overwhelming forces almost piling on top of him, he never seemed to take any hits. If a Baron threw a fireball, he picked up a Possessed and threw him in the way. If a Hell Knight tried to ram into him, he hopped over it and brought the chainsaw down vertically, sawing all the way through the demon.

"How the fuck is he still alive?!" One soldier commented. "He must a god!"

_Whiiiiizzzz-_

_**BOOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Without warning, parts of the hill began to blow up as soldiers were being tossed around by sudden explosions. Benny looked around the battlefield for the source, and noticed a ton of demons flying around in the air, with elongated bodies, flying around with what seemed to be jetpacks, rocket launchers attached to the sides. The rockets poured out, flying towards both the Doom Slayer and the soldiers on the hill.

_**BWIP!**_

One of the Revenants suddenly jerked backwards as something smashed through its head, before flying around wildly and impacting into the ocean of demons below, sending body parts flying in every direction.

"I got your backs!"

Benny looked to see Charlie standing a few meters to the other side of the hill, having kneeled to take the sniper shot. She groaned.

"God, that still kicks!"

_**BWIP!**_

Another sniper round went through another Revenant, this time hitting one of the rocket launcher deployers. The Revenant turned into a red mist as the entire arsenal of rockets exploded, and gore rained over the battlefield.

"Me, too!" Annie suddenly piped up, having knelt next to Charlie.

"Well SHIT!"

Benny looked to his left, seeing Angel cocking his machine gun.

"If they're gonna jump into the fray, I want to get in the guts!"

He was followed by Husk, who was already laying into the hordes heavily with the heavy machine gun, the string of bullets slung over his shoulder.

_**BRT-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T!**_

The cascade of bullets smashed through several lesser demons, with Husk hooting and hollering in absolute joy as he rained hell.

"FUCK YEAH, MOTHERFUCKERS!" He shouted in ecstacy.

"We might as well try and help along, too."

Benny looked down to his immediate right, hearing the familiar voice of Vaggie, who had prepped her electric shield and flaming sword. Benny's face became serious as he raised his own shield and sword.

"I suppose we must."

And with that, they ran down the hill, shouting their battle cries, bashing and slashing through the thick mesh of lesser demons.

The Doom Slayer was in his own world of slaughter. Rage had filled his every last pore as each and every demon he slaughtered only drove his bloodlust further. The demons began to meld together as one, big, ugly red sea, and he was intent on drinking _every last drop._

Of course, the larger demons were a much bigger problem to the others on his side.

"WATCH OUT!"

"FUCK, THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM!"

"HOLY SHIT, DID THAT GUY JUST SHOOT A LASER OUT OF HIS ARM?!"

Soldiers cried out in terror as they were ravaged almost as badly as the demonic forces being killed in droves by the Doom Slayer. Hell Razers pointed their arms at the line and dragged their lasers across the hill, searing several soldiers in half; Prowlers hopped out of the mesh of demonic forces to rip apart other soldiers that had strayed too far towards the sea of demons, only to hop back into the mesh once they were being fired at; Barons of Hell were throwing fireball after fireball at Charlie, Annie, Angel, Husk and the others who were committing to their roles, making their jobs a lot harder to carry out. Niffty darted around the hill, administering medical treatment at breakneck pace.

"HereIhavesomehealingforYOUandYOUandYOUANDYOUANDYOUAND-"

She rambled on as she went around fixing every broken bone, healing every open wound, mending every deep laceration and reasserting dismembered torsos back onto their lower bodies, which somehow miraculously worked.

And while all this carnage raged on, Adams was standing on top of a hill adjacent to the main one, having still not figured out how to fucking turn on the device in his hands.

"GODDAMNIT, FUCKING TURN ON!" He shouted in absolute fury at the device, fiddling heavily with every possible part of the device that looked like a button. Hayden started noticing what he was doing and tried to run over to him, shouting.

"_STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THAT DEVICE! DON'T USE IT WHILE WE'RE CONVERTING THE MORTAR PLACEMENTS!"_

_Bwoop!_

The screen suddenly turned on, and the entire screen was filled with red marks.

"_Overriding manual mortar fire to automatic. Fire on these coordinates?"_

"W-Wait, no! How do I reset?!" Adams shouted, hearing Hayden's cries for him to stop.

He fiddled more with the device, and pressed more buttons in a desperate attempt to revert the changes he made.

"_Coordinates confirmed. Firing on these positions."_

"WAIT, SHIT! NO NO NO NO! DON'T FIRE, DON'T FUCKING-"

And suddenly, every single artillery placement that hadn't been dismantled yet turned their barrels upwards. Adams turned pale as he looked down to see where they were firing.

_**The entire map had been highlighted.**_

"_Firing on these coordinates."_

"Oh, fuck."

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

Hundreds upon hundreds of mortar bombs were shot into the air, arcing up into the sky, disappearing behind the clouds above them. Hayden, who witnessed this, turned two very red beams on Adams.

"_YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"_

He turned around to see everyone still fighting against the hordes of demons, and pulled up his communications channel.

"_THIS IS A MESSAGE TO ALL PERSONNEL: EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY! PULL OUT OF COMBAT NOW! __**NOW!"**_

He watched the soldiers, along with his task force receive the message, and they began to pull out of the battle, running back towards the mortar placements. Many lesser demons chased after them, along with a few Revenants, Barons, Hell Knights and Prowlers.

Just as the mortars came raining down upon the landscape.

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**_

Sound had cut out for Adams as the bombs fell and impacted into the landscape, completely covering everything within sight with explosions and smoke.

_No...not again…_

He began receiving flashbacks to that awful, terrible day in Imp City.

* * *

_Eeeeeeeeeeeeee…_

His ears rang. His mouth was completely dry as he had inhaled smoke and ash. His eyes were crusted over with dust, and he was unable to comprehend his surroundings.

"Help...Help...Help…"

It was all he could cry in his moments of terror. He could not see, nor hear, nor feel his surroundings. He was completely cut off from his senses, and this terrified him more than anything.

The feeling that he was going to be shot, or stabbed, or run over, or blown up, either by the Demon Slayer or someone else entirely...it was _unbearable._

"_...Adams...Adams...Adams!..."_

_Huh?_

"_Adams!...ADAMS!..._ADAMS!"

And all at once, everything came back to him. The ringing had disappeared. The screams of those within Imp City pilfered his eardrums instead, along with the carnage that was being wrought along with it.

And standing over him...was Annie. Her tear-covered face, her beautiful flowing hair, her bright hazel eyes. She lowered her hand to him.

"I won't let you die, Mister Adams!" She shouted, as if in defiance of the situation around them. "I won't!"

Groggily, steadily, _slowly_, Adams drove himself with all the willpower inside of him to reach out and grab that hand.

* * *

**Annie.**

The ringing had disappeared. The bombs had stopped dropping.

For a moment...it was silent.

And then-

_**REEEEAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!**_

_**BRRRRT-BRRRRT-BRRRT!**_

"_THE TRANSPORTERS ARE CONSTRUCTED! GET IN NOW, ALL OF YOU!"_

A cacophony of noises jolted Adams back to reality. His eyes darted around as he watched the sheer chaos unfold before him. As the smoke began to clear, Adams noticed that the bombs had annihilated a large majority of the demons that had spawned, along with the Gore Nests. Soldiers were sprawled around the area, attempting to get up and walk around as they groaned from their disorientation.

"ADAMS!"

Adams looked to his left to see Annie running up the hill towards him, dust coating almost her entire body. Though the moment was inappropriate, he thought she looked cute even while covered in ash. She sprinted up the hill, stumbling several times, and tried to help him up, as he was lying on the ground, also covered in dust from head to toe.

"PLEASE, LET'S GET TO THE TRANSPORTERS!"

"...O-Okay…"

That was his only response as he went down the hill with her, back towards the transporter.

Meanwhile, Benny, who had also been severely disoriented by the blast, was just now trying to get up, as the impact of the bombs had thrown him several meters away. He noticed his subordinates running to the transporters, and in an effort to ensure that no man was left behind, he forced himself back up the hill, despite the raging headache he had and the ringing in his ears, to check the battlefield for any wounded soldiers.

* * *

**| AND THE DOOM SLAYER WAS STILL RIPPING AND TEARING |**

* * *

Benny could not comprehend the sight before him. Despite the sheer scale of the bombing that had taken place, and the Doom Slayer being in the middle of it, he looked as if he was _completely unphased_, and seemed to be fighting with even more rage and vigor than before.

"I...tried to fight..._him_?" He murmured.

"BENNY, COME ON!" Charlie shouted, grabbing him by the hand. "WE CAN'T WASTE ANY TIME! GET IN THE TRANSPORTERS!"

Benny nodded his head, almost as if he were trying to reassure himself. He took only a moment to scan the battlefield of which the Doom Slayer was on to find any wounded soldiers, but saw none. With that assured, he made a dash for the transporters, which were being filled by the second by panicking expedition crew members.

"FUCK, MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING!"

"LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"SHIT, I DROPPED MY LEGO MILLENIUM FALCON **AGAIN**!"

Personnel clambered on as the last transporter was rebuilt, and the boats began to take off into the air.

"SOMEONE'S GOTTA PICK UP THE DOOM SLAYER!" Adams shouted. The driver of his vehicle nodded, and brought the boat close to the hill where the Doom Slayer had been standing previously.

"GET ON, DOOM SLAYER!" Adams shouted, joined by Annie, Moxxie, Millie and the rest of those inside the transporter.

Without skipping a beat, the Doom Slayer disengaged from the fight, crushing, blasting and blowing up every demon that stood in his path as he ran for the transporter. Noticing where he was going, a few Imps began to throw fireballs at the transporter. The driver tried to dodge several of them, but took a few hits.

"QUICKLY, DOOM SLAYER!" Annie shouted, clearing the way for the Doom Slayer to get on.

And finally, as the Doom Slayer stepped on the head of an Imp, he catapulted onto the transporter.

"GO, GO, GO!" Adams shouted at the driver.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He shouted back, pulling up quickly and dodging a volley of fireballs narrowly. "AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, PUT OUT THE FIRES ON MY VEHICLE!"

As they pulled into the air, Adams and Annie worked quickly with large towels to take out the fire that seemed to stick to parts of the transporter, while the Doom Slayer stood on the edge of the vehicle, firing his LMG at the Cacodemons that tried to follow. The last sight he had before they flew into the clouds was of Seymour writhing in agony and the Hell Priest cackling on the other side of the field.

"What the fuck was all that?!" Adams demanded, shuddering as he looked down at the sheer volume of demons moving around. The transporter was silent for a moment as no one posed an answer.

"_That," _VEGA spoke. "_Is why we have to destroy the portal as soon as possible. If they manage to cross the boundary between this land into the mainland of your Hell before we can shut down the portal…"_

The air was tense as he paused.

"_...Then none of your demonkind are going to be left by the time we get back."_


	25. THE DARK LORDS WHO HAD WRONGED HIM

**Chapter 25: THE DARK LORDS WHO HAD WRONGED HIM…**

The entire expedition was deathly quiet as they flew through the air. The atmosphere had gotten a lot more grim since they had narrowly escaped that encounter.

It had been a few hours now, and nothing had been reported. No more demonic outposts had been spotted, and VEGA inferred this to be that they were getting very close to the portal by now.

Morale was shockingly low. Despite their best efforts, they had still lost some troops back at the recent fight. Adding that to the already-shockingly high casualties they suffered thus far on this expedition, they simply couldn't afford any more large losses like that.

Or it'd be the end.

Adams looked over one of the transport carriers, gazing at the constantly-changing landscape below him. He, along with the other soldiers in the expedition, were downcast and in despair. None of the casualties thus far had come back, and so considering the potential places they could have gone, none of the ideas pitched were positive in any sense.

All they could do was reach that portal.

But above all, no one was more filled with wrath than the Doom Slayer. The spectacle he had witnessed at that most recent engagement was too reminiscent of a betrayal he was all too familiar with.

And so, the carriers continued on their path, leaving the passengers to keep their silent anger to themselves.

* * *

"Goddamnit, Loona, can't you just give me a piggyback ride?!" Blitzo shouted in frustration as he tried desperately to climb the daunting hill in front of them. Meanwhile, Loona was climbing up effortlessly, using the small ridges she could find to propel herself upwards.

"Hey, don't leave me behind, ya goddamn mountain goat!" Blitzo shouted up to her. She looked back down the cliff, snickering.

"Does your usefulness end at getting others to do your dirty work?" She inquired with a condescending tone.

"Hey, don't forget you're one of those fellas, sweety." Blitzo fired back quickly.

This back-and-forth continued as they both traversed up the mountainside. By the time he had reached the top, Blitzo felt as if his arms and legs had gone numb.

"Fuckin- since when did Hell become a platformer?!" He shouted in anger, resentful of the fact that Loona had been stretching right next to his incapacitated body for the last minute.

Just as he said this, he noticed Loona's face pale. She flung herself to the ground, trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

"Uh, Loona, baby-girl, are you gonna tell me why you did all that just now?" Blitzo questioned, though he had lowered his voice to match the suddenly tense atmosphere. Loona, without saying a single word, pointed ahead of her.

Ahead of them was a sea of monsters, the demons that had invaded their Hell. While Blitzo had gotten a few glances at the demons when he had escaped from that earlier fight, seeing them now was entirely different. The longer he stared at them, the more chills that ran down his body, his mind beginning to cloud with panic.

"Wh-What the hell?" He muttered to himself. As long as he had been in this god-forsaken (literally) hell, he had not once felt fear in the slightest. Maybe it was because of the idea that he would simply respawn if killed, or that nothing worse could be dealt to him than where he was at now.

But the sight of these creatures...they triggered a primal fear in him. A fear that had been ingrained into him when he was human.

"Hey, Blitzo, what're you doin'?"

Blitzo felt a light push to his shoulder, already knowing it to be Loona. He looked over at her.

"W-What is it?"

"Woah, your face is pale as fuck...We shouldn't stay here long."

As she said this, he noticed that her face had also lost its color. It seemed this effect the demons were exuding wasn't exclusive to just him.

He agreed with her nonetheless. This was the last place he wanted to be in the midst of this gigantic fuckfest. And yet…

An odd feeling struck him as he looked over the hordes of demons before him. They were not acting as he expected them to. Howling, screaming, yawning, roaring...they were doing none of it. In fact, they were so silent it was almost more eerie than if they had stirred up a cacophony of noises. They seemed to be making their way somewhere.

"Goddamn, I wish I had some Takis right now…" Loona muttered, having kept herself low to the ground so as to avoid being seen.

"That makes two of us. Why don't we ditch this gay-fest and go find civilization?" Blitzo responded.

"Okay, but where the hell are we gonna go?" Loona replied sharply. "We have a cliff behind us and a giant demon army in front of us. Stuck between a cock and a hard place."

"I don't think that's how the saying goes-"

"Wait, who's that?" Loona cut him off, narrowing her eyes. In the distance, she noticed a gray-skinned demon, who was well-dressed and carrying a staff. In his other hand, he held a very familiar-looking book. Her eyes widened.

"Yo, isn't that the same book you used to get us into the living world?!" She whispered in incredulity. "What the fuck is it doing in that shithead's hands?"

She was suspicious as Blitzo offered no reply to her comment. She craned her head towards him, of which he looked the other way, pretending to whistle.

"You fuckin- what the hell did you do?!"

"Don't accuse me with bullshit, Loona!" He replied tartly. "Look, I...I _may _have given the book to Alastor."

"Who the fuck is Alastor?"

"He's some jackoff that promised he would...he would bring Moxxie and Millie back."

Loona wasn't sure how to respond to that. Of course, she knew what he was talking about. He was the one to tell her that they had died in the attack on the Capital. While she hadn't had a personal affinity with them, she could sympathize with wanting to bring back dead loved ones.

"Well...apparently now, these demons have their hands on the book. But...what are they going to use it for?"

Blitzo shrugged.

"I don't have a clue. But you know, if we ever go back to the mainland, we're definitely going to be executed for escaping. So maybe…"

Loona narrowed her eyes as she could see his devious mind turning the cogs.

"What kind of stupid shit are you going to say, now?" She questioned.

"Hey! That's extremely rude of you, Ms. Loona. I have been nothing but kind and supportive of your endeavors, and you reward me with spite and-"

"_WHAT'S YOUR FUCKIN' PLAN?" _She hissed. Blitzo's face retracted into his skull for a moment as he could not believe the disrespect he was seeing right now.

"Well...I was thinking...a good way of clearing our names somewhat...would be to...I dunno...follow this army of demons, maybe?"

As he saw Loona gawk at him, he hurried to the explanation.

"Now, hold on, sweetie. I'm just _saying _that if we do this, and we can maybe bring some information to the whole team that's traveling up here anyways...we could get off scot-free. I mean, come on, do you have any better ideas?"

Loona sighed. She didn't.

"Fuck it. Let's go follow the demon army, then."

* * *

"What's that down there?"

Adams looked down to where Moxxie was pointing. They had spent an hour or two doing absolutely jack-shit in these flying transports, so the crew was looking for anything to take their minds off what was to come.

"What the…"

The landscape Moxxie had pointed to was one of very large plant life. Mushrooms were as big as houses and made up most of the cover on the landscape, fauna was taller than the average person, tree sizes varied wildly, and rocks jutted out of the landscape like spikes. It was an odd sight to behold.

Even more odd was the village they had spotted. Wooden houses were built into the sides of mushrooms, some of the mushrooms were houses themselves. Some of them were layered on top of each other, with stairs and bridges connecting them when necessary. There was even an outlined common area.

From the sky, it was difficult to tell whether there was any life within the village, or if it was abandoned. Adams turned to the monitor on the back of the driver's seat, pressing the intercom.

"_Hayden, Moxxie spotted a village below us."_

"_Is that so? Fortunate for us, as we must resupply."_

As the message ended, the expedition began landing a few dozen meters away from the village, in case it were hostile. Soldiers, both demon and UAC alike, climbed out of their vehicles with little gusto, grabbed their rifles, and began forming up in their groups.

As Charlie climbed out of her transporter, she noticed several of the soldiers, both demon and UAC, had changed their behavior towards one another considerably. When the expedition had started, the humans had been eyeing the demon soldiers with much apprehension, often keeping to themselves.

And yet, as time went on, and the soldiers fought by one another, they began to grow into one group, sharing tales, socializing and laughing at the darkest of humor. Seeing this transformation in two completely separate groups, the unity of humans and demons alike, it was…

"Fucking gay."

Charlie turned her head towards Angel Dust, who had made the spicy comment.

"What are you referring to?" Charlie asked. He pointed to the groups of UAC and demon soldiers socializing.

"This is Hell, and they're _getting along. _Could this place be anymore redundant in its goal? I mean, if it's about eternal damnation, they don't seem to be very damned, if you ask me."

"Are you _really _complaining about people getting along, jackass?"

Charlie turned to see Vaggie, who had begun chastising Angel Dust. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh, great. _Vagina _is back to talk shit."

Vaggie's face grew beet-red as she heard his retort.

"It's _VAGGIE, _YOU CROSS-DRESSING FUCKIN' INSECT!"

"The FUCK you just call me, you little bitch-"

Charlie tuned out their arguing as she walked towards the village. And yet, she couldn't help but smile. Vaggie had drastically improved from her previous time as a PTSD survivor. Charlie hoped that she would eventually fully recover so they could talk like they used to.

"_What are you contemplating, Miss Charlotte?"_

Charlie could hear Hayden's grating voice from behind her. She subconsciously grimaced. Since the start of the expedition, she blamed every single casualty and death on Hayden. Despite him coming in to help them with this problem, as the journey progressed, her anger towards him grew by the hour. He showed no remorse when giving orders that could result in deaths, no regret or sorrow when he was informed of how many people died in each battle.

She turned around to confront him, only to be met with his crotch region. She craned her head up.

"_What's with the look of resentment on your face?" _He inquired. "_We are nearing the end of our journey. Soon you may remove that unpleasant expression and adopt a more positive demeanor."_

Charlie turned away from him, heading towards the village. Hayden's eye-beams followed her as she made her way towards the village.

_THUNK!_

Hayden turned around to the source of the heavy thud, only to see the Doom Slayer, who had hopped off the transporter and onto the ground. His boots sent cracks webbing across the stone he had landed on as he began loading his Super Shotgun.

_Clink, clink._

Even as a bionic humanoid far taller than the Slayer, he still held a deep aversion to the being before him. In all of his ego and avarice, Hayden was fully aware that he was still ignorant to the Slayer's full capabilities. Having uncovered this being himself from the original dig site, since the first time he had laid eyes on the Doom Slayer…

Despite all of his ambition, Hayden had never felt more powerless than when he was around the Doom Slayer.

"_Slayer…" _Hayden muttered, trying to recover his demeanor as he realized his conscience had wandered off into deep thought.

The Slayer ignored him, continuing to reload the weaponry in his hands as he walked forward towards the village. Hayden sighed, releasing a metallic sound out of his vocal receptors.

"_Bastard."_

* * *

As Charlie was making her way towards the entrance of the village, she felt a hand touch her arm. She turned around to see Benny, a concerned expression on his face.

"Miss Ch- Charlie... we don't know what these demons are like. Maybe you should allow me and the Anti-Demon Squad to-"

"Wh- hold on, 'Anti-Demon Squad'? What team are you referring to?"

"Why, _us,_ of course!"

Charlie turned around (she felt as if she were doing that a little too often recently) to see Angel Dust, followed by Husk, Niffty, Adams, Annie and Vaggie, all of them wearing those reptilian-scaled suits and carrying their equipment. She was a bit irked at how confidently they strode as a group. One battle and suddenly they thought themselves to be elites.

"And, why exactly did you name yourselves the Anti-Demon Squad?" Charlie asked with a slightly-condescending tone. "You are demons yourselves."

"Well," Husk was about to pipe up. "Actually-"

"We got word from that VEGA dude on something _real _nice." Angel Dust interjected with a wide grin on his face. "He said that if we close this portal and go through that whole redemption thing, we can actually get _reincarnated _back to Earth! How cool is _that?!" _

Charlie was shocked upon hearing this sudden news.

"W-Wait, what?! We can...reincarn-"

"Reincarnate, yeah, sugar tits! So _fuck _being a demon, I got bored of Hell anyways. Soon enough, I'm gonna be a fuckin' _human _again!"

With that said, Angel Dust strode towards the village, machine gun in hand, with the rest of the crew following closely behind. Charlie was left with a mixed bag of emotions. Looking for some sort of advice or assurance of some sort, she grabbed Vaggie's shoulder as she was walking forward.

"Wait, Vaggie!"

Vaggie turned around, looking at her. Charlie pulled back at the look. In her eyes, there was no comfort, no apprehension or fear. She was determined.

"What is it, Charlie?"

"W-Well, um...I just...can I please get some assurance…?"

"Assurance? Of what? We're going to be reincarnated if we just close this portal and go through redemption. What else is there to be assured about?"

Vaggie holstered her sword-spear and placed her hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Don't you get it, Charlie? We can _finally _be free of this place. This _wasteland. _I don't know about you, but I want so _badly _to see Earth again. The trees, the fields of grass, the mountains...anything except this _fucking _black asphalt and these red skies."

Charlie tried desperately to search for something to say to that, but could only fall silent. Vaggie's eyes filled with sorrow mixed with determination.

"Charlie...if we can reincarnate to Earth...we can finally, _actually _have a relationship. Think about it! You and me, sitting on a park bench, looking over grassy fields, trees and pretty cottages. I want that _so badly."_

Vaggie's hand dropped from Charlie's shoulder and she turned around, jogging back to keep pace with the rest of the squad.

Charlie wanted to scream, cry, yell and cry some more. She had no idea how to feel about this development. To suddenly go from living her entire life to...becoming _human? _How would that even happen for her? She was born a demon, she had lived her entire life as a demon. What would happen to her if _she _went through this redemption?

She had considered this question when she first got the idea for her hotel, but she didn't think she'd have to confront it so suddenly. She thought she would at least get a series-long development for her hotel before she had to consider her own fate.

Downtrodden, confused and exhausted, she began shuffling towards the village, feeling more powerless than ever.

* * *

As Angel Dust strutted into the village, he saw one of its first occupants, an older demon with graying _for fuck's sake I have no idea how to describe Hazbin demons they look so fucking ridiculous I don't even know where to start-_

The first person Angel came across was an older-looking demon with graying fur, relaxed eyes and a kind smile. He wore simple garments, consisting of a beige tunic and-

"Hey, boomer, what's the sitrep on this village?"

Angel Dust's sudden question, along with his intimidating approach, took the elderly villager completely by surprise as he stumbled backwards, stuttering in fear and scrambling backwards as Angel Dust continued to advance.

"Wh-Wh-Wha-"

Angel Dust sighed in frustration and reached down, grabbing the villager by his tunic and pulling him up to his face.

"Listen, buddy-" Angel Dust snarled. "I got a one-way ticket to reincarnation, and I don't plan on wasting my time in this hellish shithole any longer. Where the fuck is the portal?"

The villager continued stuttering over his words, his eyes wide in shock. He raised his claws meekly, as if to try and placate Angel Dust.

"Hey, don't treat him like that, you fuckin' asshole." Husk piped up, slapping Angel Dust with the side of his weapon.

"Tch." Angel sneered, dropping the shaking villager.

"Oomph!"

Husk walked up to the villager, shouldering his weapon and offering a hand.

"Sorry about my squadmate. We're not here to hurt any of you. We just need to ask you a few questions, maybe about how this side of Hell works, if you've seen any big, scary demons before- You know, standard stuff."

The villager's face contorted in confusion.

"Wh-What? Who are you people? What do you mean, 'Hell'?!"

Husk craned his head slightly, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Um...you know, Hell? Where we are right now? You're not on the mainland part of Hell, so I was wondering if you could tell us about this side of Hell."

The villager still seemed massively confused.

"I don't mean to offend you, sir, but...I have no idea what you're talking about. We're not in Hell."


	26. AND THOSE THAT TASTED

**Chapter 26: AND THOSE THAT TASTED…**

"Are you fuckin' retarded?" Angel inquired, sidling up to the elderly villager. "You died. So you'd know that you're in Hell. I don't think it's something that can just 'skip by' your mind, pal."

The villager's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"You seem to have a mouth on you, boy. I suggest you watch what you say when dealing with people in the future."

Angel Dust snickered, leaning down and putting his face in the villager's.

"Yeah? And what exactly are ya gonna do about it, old man?"

As this conversation ensued, Husk got a _really _bad feeling about the villager's warnings, and elbowed Angel Dust in the shoulder.

"Ow! The fuck was that for, asshat?!" Angel hissed at Husk, who was grimacing.

"You need to keep your goddamn mouth shut." Husk hissed back. "If you're gonna approach every single friendly we meet like this, we're gonna have problems, kid."

Angel grinded his teeth in anger.

"Who do ya think you are, you owl fuck?"

"I think I'm the guy who's gotta deal with a coked up rookie that's never learned humility. Now's the perfect fuckin' time to demonstrate it."

Just as he finished the sentence, he heard heavy footsteps from behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know whose presence it was.

The Doom Slayer walked past the two and up to the villager, who eyes widened in bewilderment. He visibly shook in place.

"Wh-Who are you?" The villager muttered. The Doom Slayer was silent, electing instead to stare him down.

"_The Doom Slayer would like to know why you believe we are not, in fact, located in a hellish dimension." _VEGA spoke up.

The villager gulped.

"U-Um, well...I still am not sure why you all are so..._determined _on the idea that we are in Hell. While I myself am not too sure as to where we are, this land is known as the Interchange."

"_The interchange?"_

The villager's nerves began to settle a bit.

"Erm...yes. If you didn't see it, the lands here are very...uneven. The weather patterns, landscape, animals; Everything is different. Hence, the 'Interchange'."

"_Have you ever gone outside of these lands?"_

"Er, not to be rude, Lord Slayer-" Husk began. He had heard the other soldiers referring to the Doom Slayer in this manner, and since he wanted to get in good with the soldiers, he decided to follow suit. "But, why do we need this information? Shouldn't we be hauling ass to that portal to close it as soon as possible?"

"Portal?" The elder villager inquired. "What portal?"

"_This conversation is getting off-topic." _Hayden interrupted, traipsing up to the group. The villager was taken aback more than before.

"How many giants are in this group?!" He muttered in terror.

"_If we are not in a plane of hell, tell us where we are." _Hayden demanded, pointing a robotic finger at the villager, who leered back in bewilderment.

"Uh, um...you're in...well, I haven't a clue! But this can't be Hell."

"_And why do you say that?"_

"I was born and raised in this land, and I can assure you that my existence was not one of pain and suffering, as Hell would suggest. Nor am I a demon of any sort."

"_Then is it possible this plane of existence is similar to the Kadingir Sanctum?" _VEGA piped up. "_Where it may have hellish qualities, but it is not actually 'Hell'?"_

"_That may be the case." _Hayden surmised. "_So this would qualify as an 'alien' dimension."_

"Well, to me, _you _all are the aliens." The villager mumbled.

"_Very well."_ Hayden said with a sigh. "_We will gain no more useful information out of this encounter, I'm sure. At least, not that we need to know. We must hasten ourselves to the portal."_

He turned back to see Charlie speaking with villagers that were emerging out of the various houses and cottages within the village.

"_The Princess is going to want to hear this. Let us rest here for a few hours while we thoroughly discuss the next step in our plan."_

* * *

"_WHAT?" _Princess Charlie screeched, slapping her hands onto the table. She would have found that fun to do if she were not absolutely shocked right now. "What do you mean, this isn't Hell?!"

Haiden gestured to the air with one hand.

"_Well, it's quite simple, really. This is actually an alien dimension."_

"A what?!" Charlie's voice peaked in confusion.

"As skeptical as I am, that sounds stupid as fuck." Vaggie interjected, as she was also sitting at the round table with Hayden, Doom Guy (VEGA had told her to call him that), and the rest of the 'Task Force' members.

"I mean, I'd say it makes sense." Husk interjected. "I mean, come on. 'Overpopulation'? If we actually got sent to Hell, I don't think they'd have a rooming problem if they're meant for the eternal damnation of every sinner on Earth. You gotta have a few fuckin' rooms to contain someone for _good._"

"Yeah, I gotta agree." Angel Dust pitched in. "I never really fell for this whole 'damnation' thing, anyways. Ya know? I don't think I'm sufferin' that much, 'ta be honest."

Charlie was miffed to notice those two vehemently defending VEGA and Hayden's conclusions, even if they had a point. Then again, did she herself really want this place to be Hell? If it turned out _not _to be Hell…

Then she wouldn't be a...demon?

"_Furthermore," _Hayden continued. "_We have to avoid any more confrontaaaations with demonic forces before we get to the portal. We cannot afford any more casualties."_

Charlie's anger began to surge as he mentioned casualties.

_You should be the LAST person that should be talking about lives, _She thought in rage.

"You hypocrite."

Everyone's heads turned towards her, including Hayden's. She didn't realize she had impulsively said it out loud. She couldn't back down now. With fiery eyes, she slammed one hand to the table and pointed her finger at Hayden with the other.

"You heard me. You're a hypocrite! Through all the battles we went through on the way here, _you _decided to spend the lives of those men, _my _soldiers included, like you were gambling at a casino!"

"The hell are you talkin' about?" Husk mumbled, though he was definitely not going to be the person to confront her.

"I have been wondering this _entire _trip as to why it feels like we're being led on a death march." Charlie continued. "And I'm starting to wonder if you actually _care _about their lives!"

"_And how have I demonstrated a lack of empathyyyyyy for our infantry, Miss Charlotte?" _Hayden inquired, crossing one arm across his chest while sitting his other arm on top of it, rubbing his bionic chin. This subtle movement only served to anger Charlie even more, as if he was trying to mock her intentions.

"You fuckin…" She muttered, trying to rake her mind for examples to prove her point. "This whole time, having all these 'technological innovations' you keep prattling on about, and you couldn't make something to...I don't know..._keep _them alive?"

"_Is that not what Miss Niffty's role is for?" _Hayden pointed out, much to Charlie's chagrin.

"Well...what about protection or something? You know, like shields or a force field or…"

"_The Task Force was desiiiiigned so that our regular infantry would not be taking up the attention of the demonic forces, Miss Charlotte." _He stated. "_You are a part of that force, if I may mention. Why are you now having problems with our expedition?"_

Now that he was countering every one of her points, Charlie could only feel frustrated, as she couldn't provide a definitive answer as to why she was pissed at Hayden. And yet, she was almost deadset that Hayden was failing to give the soldiers the most amount of protection and care that was necessary. If only…

"_Miss Charlotte," _Hayden began. "_I have no intentions to needlessly sacrifice the very men and women who protect us for these petty battles. Each and every death is a step towards saving YOUR dimension and quite possibly oooooooooooouuuuuuurs. Every decision I make assists in maximizing our damage to the enemy and minimizing our casualties. But since we are waging battle against some of the worst, most viiiiile, most dangerous creatures we have encountered, it is simply inevitable that we will suuuufffeeeeer a number of casualties-"_

"_Mr. Hayden, she does actually raise a good point, though." _VEGA interjected. "_There is one particular discrepancy I have noted: The Crucible is still in your hands."_

Though Charlie had no idea what VEGA was talking about, Hayden turned his head to VEGA almost in alarm.

"_That is none of anyone's concern, VEGA-"_

"_Last I remember, you took it from the Doom Slayer when you pushed him through that interdimensional portal, yes?"_

Everyone's eyes turned to Hayden, who was still as a statue. Charlie noticed the Doom Slayer begin to walk over to Hayden menacingly.

"_This is not a matter of importance, and that event is in the past. It is essential that the Crucible stay under my supervision."_

"_Why is that, Mr. Hayden?"_

"_If the Doom Slayer were to use it in combat and lose it by some way, it would be catastrophic if the enemy laid their hands upon it-"_

No sooner was he able to utter another word before the Slayer pulled his leg from under him, causing the bionic body to collapse to the ground. Before he could get up, the Slayer stood over him, holding him by the neck. His helmet came close to Hayden's head beams, and Hayden could see the outline of a very angry face behind the visor.

* * *

|| **I AM A WARRIOR. I DO NOT LOSE MY WEAPONS.** ||

* * *

"_Wait!" _Hayden interjected, raising his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "_Even if that were not the case, we still do not know how fragile the Crucible is."_

"_Fragile?" _VEGA asked.

"_Yes. I myself have not used the sword against anyone. If it turns out that this swooooord is, as one might say, 'made of glass', then its astonishing annihilation power must be put to use against oooonly the woooorst enemy."_

As this confrontation was ensuing, Angel Dust turned to Husk.

"I have no fuckin' clue what's goin' on right now, but it seems pretty entertainin'." He said.

"I must have Alzheimer's, because I don't fuckin' remember askin'."

Hayden scooted out from underneath the Slayer and stood up.

"_I shall offer you a deal, Slayer." _Hayden began. "_If we should come across a foe that could very likely be the end of us, then I shall offer you the Crucible to strike it down, as is necessary."_

The Slayer stared at Hayden for what seemed like hours, before eventually growling in anger and walking off. Hayden seemed to emit a metallic sigh of relief.

"_Alright." _He said. "_Let us consolidate for a bit longer, then we shall depart."_

* * *

A few hours later, after they had recently departed from the village, the expedition was silent, as they had all been informed by VEGA that they would soon be upon the portal, at least according to the immense spike in demonic energy from VEGA's data readers.

Soldiers fiddled with their weaponry, and support personnel were desperately working on last-minute improvements to both Task Force weaponry and other technology at hand.

The Doom Slayer and Charlie were in the middle of the formation, with the Doom Slayer sharpening his various edged weapons and maintaining his rifles and other firearms. Charlie had spent the good part of many days watching him work at it.

She was amazed at how committed he was to the task. There was never a falter in his movement, nor a lack of motivation or conviction. Every scrape of the whetstone was precise and aggressive, as if he was trying to speed up the process of maintenance. He looked over his weapons with precision, never missing a spot to clean or a barrel to sift. With every shot he loaded, there was malice covering each and every bullet, as if he had a demon's name imprinted on every single shot.

It was...captivating to her. She hoped that she could hold a conversation with him one day, to find out about his past and his personality. She was so deeply curious as to what his personality was like. And despite all the trauma he put her through, it somewhat faded away after she found out that everyone he had killed came back.

And since all the people she knew were assigned to different carriers, she was left to her thoughts and her view of the Slayer.

Meanwhile, Adams and Annie, who were yet again at the front of the formation alongside Moxxie and Millie, stared out at the clouds they hovered above, filled with suspense. Nobody was saying a word.

Except, of course, Millie.

"I wonder what kind of demons they're gonna have at the final boss fight." She pondered aloud, with Moxxie rubbing his temple in frustration. She had been ranting for the past hour about the upcoming battle.

"I don't know, Millie, but maybe we should keep quiet so we can-"

"Wait!" Millie said in surprise. Moxxie turned his head up to her in alarm.

"W-What?!"

"Do you think we'll be fighting like HUGE monsters? Or do you think the boss is gonna be like some evil skull, or maybe like a floating head, or maybe-"

Moxxie began subtly playing Russian Roulette with a revolver as Millie continued ranting. Adams was watching the couple, and secretly hoped that he and Annie would not be like that in the future.

"Sheesh, good thing I'm not _that _type of girl." Annie muttered.

"Goddamnit, I love you." Adams said, of which Annie blushed.

"You're so forward, Riley."

Adams smiled. He looked out at the horizon once more. Despite his calm demeanor, he was inwardly freaking out. Now that he had things to lose, the last thing he wanted to do was get involved in a huge fight that could cost his life, and this time he had no idea where he would end up. He was hoping that his role as an artillery pointer would keep him at the back of the battle alongside Annie and that other girl-

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Adams didn't even have a moment to process what was happening. One moment, he was in deep thought in the carrier, and the next moment he was plummeting through the air towards the ground.

In his flashes of panic, he could see hundreds of other demons and humans falling from the sky, as well as several broken pieces of wrecked carriers falling alongside them.

_Please, I don't want to die, _Adams thought in desperation. _I don't want to die I don't want to die I DON'T WANT TO DIE PLEASE GOD PLEASE LORD DON'T LET ME FUCKING DIE-_

_**WHOOOMPF!**_

He heard a huge splash, and in the next moment, he was seeing a trail of bubbles. He had miraculously landed in some water. Pushing down his panic, he began swimming up frantically towards the surface, seeing several other things land in the water, including wreckage. After scraping by with his life, the last thing he wanted was to get crushed by a falling piece of metal.

"HHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He gasped for air several times as his lungs were starved of oxygen. He looked around frantically, seeing people and wreckage still falling from the clouds, smashing into the giant lake he was swimming in.

Meanwhile, the Slayer, who had seen a wall of fire coming towards the expedition before it hit, had grabbed Charlie and jumped off the carrier, flying towards the ground below. He had also slammed into the water, and was swimming rapidly towards the shore, holding a coughing Charlie in one arm.

"Wh-What the hell happened?!" She sputtered in between fits of gasping and coughing.

The Slayer swam ashore, looking up to ensure no wreckage would fall on him. He sidestepped several huge chunks of metal as they crashed into the sand bank, making his way up a steep hill. He knew what was on the other side.

Eventually, after avoiding many more chunks of metal falling from the sky, he came upon the crest of the hill, and the sight that awaited him filled him with a caustic, black rage.

Miles upon miles of empty, flat fields, all of them cluttered with Gore Nests and demons of every kind. The skies were polluted with Revenants and flying bat-like demons, as well as Lost Souls, Cacodemons and Summoners, who were flying around wildly and cackling.

And beyond all of that, in the far back, was an upwards cliff where a colossal portal sat, with demons spilling out of the portal in droves, all of them screaming and howling in raucous, twisted joy.

And flying above that portal...was **HIM.**

* * *

|| **THE ICON OF SIN.** ||

* * *

The skull cackled loudly, reaching the Slayer's ears.

* * *

"**W-E-L-C-O-M-E | S-L-A-Y-E-R."**

* * *

The Slayer's fist tightened in a ball of wrath and anger.

"**I**

**H**

**A**

**V**

**E**

**B**

**E**

**E**

**N**

**W**

**A**

**I**

**T**

**I**

**N**

**G**

**F**

**O**

**R**

**Y**

**O**

**U**

**.**

**"**


	27. THE BITE OF HIS SWORD

**Chapter 27: THE BITE OF HIS SWORD…**

The mere sight of that ugly _fucking _skull boiled the Slayer's blood. How DARE he exist here, where he once more renewed the old wounds of the past.

Of the Betrayer.

Of the Sentinels.

Of his homeworld.

He deposited Charlie on the hill, cracking his knuckles as his eyes kept unwaveringly on the Icon of Sin, who seemed to grin hideously as he approached.

"_**Y-E-S, S-L-A-Y-E-R. C-O-M-E A-N-D S-E-A-L Y-O-U-R F-A-T-E."**_

The masses of demons before him, snarling and gnashing their teeth, turned their heads towards the Doom Slayer-

* * *

**U.M.B.R.A.G.E.**

_**THEY WHO HATH DEALT THE OFFENSE MUST PAY TENFOLD FOR THEIR CRIMES**_

**U.M.B.R.A.G.E.**

* * *

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**_

There was no monologue to be had, no waiting in store.

_**KRAK-AK-AK-AK-AK!**_

This was not a story where there was tension before the fight.

_**BRT-T-T-T-T-T-T-T!**_

This was a story of one being, filled with heavenly wrath and an undying dogma.

_**BRVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV!**_

* * *

THIS WAS THE STORY OF THE **DOOM SLAYER.**

* * *

_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT-T-T-T-T-T!**_

_**BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

_**BRVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV!**_

_**KRAK-AK-AK-AK-AK-AK-AK!**_

The Doom Slayer had moved so quick that even the demons were unaware of their own deaths as he struck them down with the violence of a thousand warmongers, tearing through them as if they had all wronged him in the worst of ways.

Heads were torn off, limbs were dismembered, bodies were caved in and filled with holes.

And in the first wave of his raucous attacks, the demons that survived his onslaught fled for their existence, feeling the terrifying, _aggressive aura _that radiated from his very _**PRESENCE.**_

THE PRESENCE OF SOMEONE WHO WOULD _**RIP AND TEAR.**_

* * *

Hayden, who had finally gotten to the crest of the hill, had witnessed the beginning of the Slayer's rage-filled warpath, and even in his bionic form, he felt chills run through his mind and body.

"_What an ego I must have to have tried and toy with such a celestial being…" _He muttered. He turned around, gesturing to those UAC scientists and soldiers that were surfacing on the sandbank.

"_THIS IS NO TIME FOR REST! THIS IS THE FINAL BATTLE, MEN! ARM YOURSELVES AND TAKE POSITIONS ON THIS HILL! SUPPORT STAFF, SET UP THOSE ARTILLERY EMPLACEMENTS IMMEDIATELY!"_

While the sea of demons were focused on the Doom Slayer, Hayden had to utilize the time he was saving for the rest of the expedition. As the UAC went to work and the soldiers began setting up on their positions, Hayden turned back to see if the Doom Slayer had tired.

And of all the foolish thoughts, it was to believe the Slayer would ever tire. He hacked and slashed away at these demons as if it was his entire existence's meaning, and Hayden could not observe a single microsecond of fatigue within the Slayer. He half-wondered if there was a point to using his own UAC to fight the demons, if the Slayer would take care of them all himself.

Then, he noticed that for every demon the Slayer took out, dozens more flooded from the giant portal a mile away, and they came in such a flurry that demons were quite literally stampeding over each other to fight the Doom Slayer.

What was the point? Why did these demons so fanatically chase after their own violent deaths? It was as if Hayden was observing a constant cycle of violence, carnage, gore and death, as if the demons _lived_ for this display of wrath.

Then again, they _were _demons.

"Christ...I think my ears are plugged…"

Hayden turned around to see Angel, along with Husk and Niffty, emerging from the sandbank, soaking wet and partially covered in sand.

"_This is no time to mess about, Task Force. The Slayer has given us time to utilize our abilities, so move post-haste and ready yourselves for the onslaught."_

"Yeah, yeah, save the fancy words for the politicians." Husk said, cracking his neck. "I just wanna kill some fuckin' demons."

"Same here." Angel responded, touting his machine gun. "Let's butcher these fuckers and get our humanity back!"

Hayden nodded, then noticed the rest of the Task Force surfacing on the sandbank.

"_Inform them to find the proper positions for attack, and I'll signal when we will begin our assault."_

Angel, Husk and Niffty nodded, scurrying back to the shore to assist the others up to the hill. Hayden looked to the UAC and demon soldiers, who were hard at work setting up their own makeshift barricades, then to the Icon of Sin hovering far into the distance. He used his bionic functions to hone in on two small dots he saw on a platform near the Icon, and made it out to be a very tall demon dressed in red and holding some sort of staff, preaching and ranting in some manner, while the other was chained up to the portal. Hayden could visibly see the energy being absorbed by the portal from the chained demon.

"_He must be the power source for that portal." _Hayden surmised. "_We must kill him immediately."_

"Wait, what?" Charlie asked, having overheard his muttering. She squinted her eyes, her hawk-like vision allowing her to see past the fields of demons, until she focused on the chained demon. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh my god- DAD!"

"_Pardon?" _Hayden questioned. "_Your father is the power source?"_

Before he could do anything, Charlie transformed in a fit of rage, her eyes turning red, her wings unfolding, her hands turning to gnarled claws, her teeth turning into gnashing fangs.

"_FATHER!" _She howled, flying towards him.

"_What the hell are you doing?!" _Hayden shouted at her, though she ignored him as she flew over the sea of demons and towards him in the distance. "_She's fucking up the plan!"_

He looked around to see that everyone was mostly set up, including the artillery placements.

"_Fuck it."_

His right arm transformed into an energy cannon, and he raised it above his head, projecting his voice with a megaphone function.

"_**SOLDIERS! THE TIME HAS COME! WE MUST LAY WASTE TO THE DEMONIC FORCES BEFORE US IF WE ARE TO PREVAIL FROM THIS DIMENSION ALIVE!"**_

The soldiers shouted their war cries, raising their weapons above their heads. Hayden aimed his cannon at the hordes of demons.

"_**THIS IS THE FIGHT FOR HUMANITY! KILL THEM ALL!"**_

"_YEAAAAAAAAHH!"_

"_KILL THEM ALL!"_

"_LET'S FUCK THEM UP!"_

And so, it began.

* * *

Break an Imp's skull on the knee.

Blast a Possessed Soldier in the face with the LMG.

Cut a Hell Knight in half with a chainsaw.

All of it was more than instinct to the Doom Slayer. Every cut, every hack and slash, every burst of energy from the Gauss Cannon- It was _ingrained _in the Doom Slayer. He had done this countless times, for so long, that he had become the weapon itself. He found himself often throwing aside weaponry to cave in the skull of a Baron with his fists, or to curbstomp a downed Revenant in the face.

Because his task, his mission, was far more important than any other ideal or objective.

He would slay **DOOM** itself.

In the midst of his ripping and tearing, he caught a glance of that demon princess, in her full demonic form, zipping past him, raking her claws and breathing fire upon any demon unfortunate enough to be in her path. He had half a mind to continue his slaughter, and almost went back to it, until he noticed where she was going.

Straight towards the Icon of Sin.

He had gauged the Icon to be the most powerful foe in this ocean of demonic foes. He was the only force to be reckoned with by far, and he had no doubt that even Charlie would be killed by the goat skull.

He had half a mind to continue his violent slaughter, and yet...

He disengaged very quickly from the Cacodemon he was ripping in half and hopped from demon skull to skull as he followed Charlie, determined to stop her before she would get herself killed.

* * *

_Whrrrrrrr- __**BWIIIIIIIIIIP!**_

Hayden's arm-cannon powered up, then fired a shot at a mass of demons, who immediately incinerated from the blast.

_**BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT-T-T-T-T!**_

_**BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG! BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**_

This was shortly followed by a hail of gunfire and explosions as every armed individual unleashed their firepower upon the hordes of demons. Thousands of demons died by the second, and it almost seemed as if they were getting obliterated.

But they began to replenish almost as quickly as they were being shot down as the portal began to gush out even more, and the chained demon screamed in agony as his energy was sapped from even more so.

"_We have to kill that demon." _Hayden muttered. "_Regardless if the Princess wants him alive. He must be destroyed."_

He turned his attention to Adams, who was focusing various artillery barrages on different parts of the hordes of demons.

"_Aim your barrages at that demon in the far back, on the platform."_

Adams tilted his head in confusion.

"Huh? Where?"

Hayden pointed to the platform a mile away, and Adams squinted his eyes, trying to discern the target.

"I...don't see anything, sir."

"_Damn it." _Hayden cursed. He realized they had to move up closer in order to focus that firepower on him. "_Listen here. When we get close enough, as soon as you can map that demon on that platform on your device, do it immediately."_

Adams nodded fervently. Hayden turned back to the soldiers, activating his megaphone-like voice once more.

"_**WARRIORS! IT IS TIME TO PUSH THE ENEMY BACK! THE VANGUARD SHALL KEEP THE DEMONS AT BAY, IT IS YOUR JOBS TO ENSURE THEY STAY THAT WAY!"**_

"_HELL YEAH!"_

"_LET'S FUCK 'EM UP!"_

"_RIP AND TEAR!"_

The cacophony of shouts rang through the violent and chaotic atmosphere. Hayden looked to Benny and Vaggie, who were slaughtering any demons that tried to engage the soldiers on the hill.

"_**READY YOUR SPEARS AND FIX BAYONETS! IT'S TIME TO PUSH!"**_

The soldiers did so, then aimed them down the hill, ready to charge. Hayden had another ace up his sleeve that would ensure the demons would not overrun the soldiers during this charge.

"_**CHARGE!"**_

The screams, whoops and shouts of the soldiers temporarily drowned out the gunfire and explosions as they ran down the hill, some of them stumbling over their own feet, though the charge was mostly successful as several lesser demons separated from the horde were impaled by bayonets and spears, screaming in agony before collapsing into dust. Benny and Vaggie slammed their shields into any demons who tried to engage the infantry that had now stopped.

Hayden swiveled his head to Adams, who had waited to fire on Hayden's orders. Hayden pointed his finger at the area in front of the soldiers.

"_Create a deep trench in front of those soldiers, so that any demons who try to reach them will have to cross a giant gap before doing so."_

Adams nodded, running his finger in a line across the device. The artillery placements fired their mortars, which arced far above the heads of the infantry and came down a few dozen meters in front of them.

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The ground was pulverized as the barrage dug itself a hole that spanned several meters between the soldiers and the demonic forces, and was a few meters deep.

Hayden was almost ready to celebrate, when he noticed that the Doom Slayer had disengaged with the main horde of demons and was chasing after Charlie. He felt dread begin to build up as he noticed the attention of many of those demons switch from the Doom Slayer to him and his forces.

"_**READY YOUR FIREARMS AND BEGIN FIRING NOW!"**_

A wall of gunfire erupted once more, vaporizing through the demons that were sprinting, crawling and flying towards the soldiers. Revenants that tried to flank the squad were promptly shot down by Annie and her sniper squad, who had to pick up the slack for Charlie's missing spot.

"Fuck, I can't take down every single one!" She muttered. She noticed one particular Revenant dodging her shots and making its way towards her, opening the silos for its rockets as it cackled.

_**BANG!**_

Another sniper shot, not from Annie, slammed into the Revenant's head, sending the flying demon spinning all over the place, its rockets shooting out of the silos and blowing up packs of demons. Annie looked to her left to see Niffty, who had a sniper rifle in her hands. She gave Annie a big grin.

"I noticed you needed some help there, so I'm gonna fill Charlie's role until she comes back!" She said, her own squad of UAC and demon snipers coming up behind her.

Meanwhile, Angel and Husk were side by side, firing upon the packs of lesser demons trying to storm through the deep-set trenches. Angel noticed an Imp trying to make itself small and using another demon's body as cover as it tried to make its way towards them.

_**BRRRRRT-T-T-T-T!**_

Angel lit up the body, and the Imp, with several bullets as he cackled.

"Holy FUCK, this is the most fun I've ever had!" He shouted in ecstasy. "I could get used to this!"

_**BRRT-T-T!**_

Angel flinched as Husk fired off a round of machine gun shots.

"For fuck's sake, Husk, why don't you make me go deaf-"

_Thump._

It was only then that he noticed a large Hell Knight had fallen to the ground only a few feet away in the trench, having focused its warpath on Angel, who looked to Husk with newfound respect.

"I mean, I wasn't gonna die from that, but thanks." He said.

"Thank me after we win the fuckin' battle!" Husk shouted, releasing another cascade of bullets towards a gang of Imps crawling through the trenches.

* * *

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_CRACK!_

Demon skulls caved in one after another as the Doom Slayer played hopscotch on their heads, trying to catch Charlie. It was difficult, as she was weaving between both flying demons and giant demons with relative ease, leaving the Doom Slayer to kill them before he continued chasing after her. He was clearly faster, but she outmaneuvered the demons so easily that he was left with the engagements.

He could hear her screaming for her father, and he was rapidly reminded of a time long ago, during the time of the Sentinels, when he had saved a girl from the tide of demonic forces as they descended upon her village. He remembered that same little girl crying out for her father, who had been ripped to shreds by the packs of demons.

In the moment, he felt his deep-seated anger boil up at the unjust thought, and he zoomed forward, moving so quickly that his entire body blasted through a Baron of Hell, leaving a Doom Slayer-shaped hole in the demon.

* * *

"SIR, THEY'RE STARTING TO OVERWHELM US!"

Hayden noticed this, too. As the Doom Slayer moved further towards the portal, more and more demons being left behind were starting to focus their attention on the soldiers firing at them, and soon the trenches began to fill with more and more bodies of demons by the second. Hayden was frustrated as he wondered why these bodies were not disintegrating, and he soon came to the conclusion that the Icon of Sin was controlling their ability to reincarnate back in Hell.

Perhaps he was leaving these bodies here as a way to bridge the gap between the demonic forces and the soldiers? If that was the case…

He wasn't entirely sure what to do next. His plan had fully relied on the Doom Slayer taking the focus of the demonic forces as his forces pushed up slowly until they could reach the platform and take out the source of power for the portal. Once that was done, they could focus on the Icon of Sin.

Instead, the Princess had fucked up the entire plan, running off and then causing the Doom Slayer to chase after her, for whatever unknown reason. In all honesty, he couldn't care less if she had died in this attack, but he hadn't expected the Doom Slayer to go after her.

Now, the demonic forces were starting to focus fully on the soldiers.

And the first casualty occurred.

"AAAAUGH!" A soldier screamed as he was set on fire by a Baron's fireball, while another was being ambushed by a Prowler who had snuck past the trenches unseen.

Slowly but surely, Hayden's forces began to dwindle slowly as soldiers were being killed one by one; Set on fire, impaled, eaten, torn to shreds.

They were...losing.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

Hayden looked to where a soldier was pointing to see a Cyber-Mancubus a few dozen meters away, surrounded by lesser demons, firing its arm lasers at the soldiers. Its precision was deadly as it disintegrated several soldiers at once.

Annie and Niffty, along with their squadron, were too focused on picking off both flying and sneaking demons that tried to flank the soldiers, while Vaggie and Benny were fending off the growing horde of demons descending upon the trenches. Hayden looked to Adams, who was frantically pressing various marks and locations on his device.

"_Adams, fire upon that Mancubus!"_

"S-Sir, I'm running dangerously low on munitions! It's getting close to the 'Hail Mary' mark!"

If Hayden had teeth, he would have gnashed them in fury. The 'Hail Mary' ammo deposit was only meant to be used as a last resort, either on the portal or on the power source for it. The last thing he wanted to do was dive into that deposit, but…

"_Use whatever's left of your regular deposit and fire upon that Mancubus!"_

"Are you sure?! If I do that, then I'll have run out-"

"_JUST DO IT!"_

Adams pressed the pad and focused the artillery on the Mancubus. In only a few moments, bombs barraged the Mancubus, sending clouds of smoke and dust in every direction. After it cleared, the Mancubus was left in pieces. Hayden sighed, though his relief could not last for long. Now that the last of the regular artillery deposit had been used, they could no longer thin out the hordes of demons, and he knew that his soldiers would not be able to hold off the demonic forces for much longer.

If the battle didn't turn in his favor soon, then this would be the beginning of the end.


	28. NAMED HIM

**Cha****p****ter 28: NAMED HIM…**

_**CRUNCH!**_

_**BOOOM!**_

_**BRRT-T-T!**_

Just a little bit more…

_**CRACK!**_

_**THWIP!**_

_**BANG!**_

_Just a little bit MORE…_

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

_**KRAK-AK-AK-AK-AK!**_

_**SCHLICK!**_

_JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE!_

The Doom Slayer had to meld moving and fighting into one form, using demons as catapults to follow Charlie as she continued flying towards the chained demon that the Doom Slayer had now noticed, as well as the power being sapped from him by the portal.

The screams and cries of this girl...they were far more reminiscent of his past than he had wanted.

The cries of the dying innocent...

The agony and suffering of those at the hand of the demons...

The torture endured by the souls of humans…

**His anger began to boil, stew, and grow. **

Finally, when they were only a few hundred meters away from the platform where her father was chained up, the Doom Slayer could hear Alastor, that pest, preaching upon the platform.

"_IT IS THE WISH OF EVERY BEING TO EXPERIENCE THE PURE EUPHORIA AND EXCITEMENT THAT THE ICON OF SIN HAS TO OFFER!" _He cried and shouted in unadulterated ecstasy. "_SURELY, EVERY BEING SHOULD COME TO KNOW OF THIS EXPERIENCE! YOU MUST!"_

As he was preaching, the Doom Slayer could see his demonic powers infusing with demons coming out of the portal, strengthening their abilities and endurance, before launching towards the Doom Slayer.

That fucker needed to be taken out.

"DAD!" Charlie cried, her desperation growing more and more as she got closer to her father. He was just within reach now-

_**CRACK!**_

A huge, skeletal arm burst from the ground below, grabbing Charlie mid-flight, and squeezing her. She screamed and shouted in pain and agony as her bones were crushed.

"_**F-O-O-L-I-S-H I-N-S-E-C-T!" **_The Icon of Sin hissed. "_**D-O N-O-T E-L-E-C-T T-O T-A-U-N-T M-E!"**_

As this came about, the Doom Slayer caught up to her, bashing the skeletal fingers to try and free her. With every crack of his fists, the grip of the hand grew tighter around Charlie, causing her to choke on her own blood as her ribcage was shattered.

"_**H-A H-A H-A!" **_The Icon cackled. "_**T-R-Y A-S Y-O-U W-I-L-L, S-L-A-Y-E-R! T-H-E G-I-R-L W-I-L-L B-E C-R-U-S-H-E-D B-E-F-O-R-E Y-O-U C-A-N-"**_

And in that moment, the very tide of battle was turned.

* * *

_A deafening sound of the breaking of chains echoed across the lands, carrying all the way back to the cities and the Capital._

_The field of battle came to a sudden halt. It was as if time itself had frozen. The lands were eerily silent, and the Slayer's eyes came upon the deity floating above the field, bathed in a blinding light of divine passage, his three wings unfolding upon the heathens below._

* * *

_**THE SERAPHIM**_

* * *

_**DOOM SLAYER...**_

* * *

_**I HAVE COME TO PASS ONCE MORE...**_

* * *

_**TO GRANT YOU... **_

* * *

_**ANOTHER BENEDICTION...**_

* * *

_**THE POWER OF **__**THE FATHER**_

* * *

_**RAISE THE FALLEN...**_

* * *

_**THOSE WARRIORS WHO...**_

* * *

_**HAVE SACRIFICED THEMSELVES...**_

* * *

_**FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP...**_

* * *

_**AND UNDYING DOGMA...**_

* * *

_**RAISE THEM..**_

* * *

_**WITH NEWFOUND HOPE...**_

* * *

_**AND DEPART UPON...**_

* * *

_**THESE HEATHENOUS DEMONS..**_

* * *

_**YOUR DIVINE RAGE...**_

* * *

_**R=I= P | A=N=D | T=E=A=R | U=N=T=I=L | I=T | I=S | D=O=N=E**_

* * *

And just as quickly as he had appeared, he left. Time had unfrozen. The field of battle commenced once more, though the Icon of Sin was shocked into silence.

The Doom Slayer was the first to see Lucifer, who was bowing before him, his chains broken. The field around them was littered with the dismembered bodies of hundreds of demons.

"**Save my daughter." **He spoke, his voice echoing the sounds of thousands of different personalities. "**And you shall receive my full power."**

And in seconds, unspeakable amounts of energy flowed from Lucifer into the Doom Slayer.

Thoughts and visions of countless tortures, agonies, deaths, destruction, carnage, chaos, and more plagued his mind for what seemed to be an eternity.

And in seconds, it had finished.

Lucifer crumpled to the ground, now a husk of a shell.

And before him, the Doom Slayer was shaking violently as this seemingly-unlimited power coursed through his body. He looked up at the Icon of Sin, who was further confused by the event before him, and the Doom Slayer raised his hands, as if he were summoning from the _grave_.

A deep rumbling could be heard from every corner of the battlefield. Slowly, hands began to claw through the dirt, and both demons and humans climbed out of the ground, weapons in hand as their eyes and mouths glowed bright.

"_Doom Slayer...Doom Slayer...Doom Slayer…" _They chanted, though their tone were as if they had been given salvation by the very title they praised.

Tens upon thousands of humans and demons alike emerged from the ground, much to the horror of the demons around them. Hayden, along with the rest of the expedition, were bewildered beyond belief as they witnessed this event, seeing this spectacle as they crawled out of the ground around them as well.

And there they stood, holding axes, machetes, rifles, machine guns, pistols, scythes, and a plethora of other deadly weaponry.

The Doom Slayer lowered his hands, unsheathing his double barrel and pulling out two slugs, loading them into their respective chambers.

_Click, click._

And then he closed it.

_Ka-chink._

* * *

**RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!**

* * *

The line was bespoken, and his followers shouted their war cries, repeating the mantra.

"_**RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!" "RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!" **_

"_**RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!" "RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!"**_

"_**RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!" "RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!"**_

"_**RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!" "RIP AND TEAR UNTIL IT IS DONE!"**_

The battlefield became a bloodbath as his followers plunged themselves into the demons, who were initially shocked by the fearless charge, and many of them were brutally killed as the followers went to work, hacking and slashing, blasting and bleeding, firing their rifles and blowing heads off of demons.

"_YOU FUCKING CRETIN!" _

The Slayer, who was already drained of so much energy from summoning his hordes, turned his visor up to see Alastor, standing on the platform, conjuring spirits and shadows beside him. His eyes were completely sunken in, his face was contorted in a permanent state of wrath and ecstasy.

"_DON'T THINK IT TO BE SO EASY IN DEFEATING US, SLAYER! YOU'RE IN __**A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION OF DEMONS!"**_

As he shouted this, his body began transforming, his muscles bursting from the fancy attire he was wearing, his legs turning into hooves, his face melding and transforming into that of a _true _demon: One with rows of sharpened fangs plaguing his mouth, his goat eyes gazing at the Slayer.

The Slayer unfurled his Gauss Cannon, revving it up as he pointed it at Alastor.

* * *

**| YOU SHALL BE CRUSHED ALL THE SAME. |**

* * *

_**BWOOOOOOOO-**_

The cannon repulsed, sending a wide, blue-white laser beam towards Alastor. It tore through his chest, though it seemed to have no particular effect on Alastor as he cackled, pointing at the Slayer.

"_IT'S GOING TO TAKE __**FAR **__MORE THAN THAT, DEAR SLAYER!" _

The shadowy wisps screeched like banshees as they dove towards the Slayer, who began sprinting across the field. He would not be able to kill these shadows, at least not with the weaponry he had.

He had to take down Alastor himself.

"_**S-H-R-E-D T-H-E S-L-A-Y-E-R A-P-A-R-T, A-N-D P-L-A-C-E H-I-S R-E-M-A-I-N-S I-N T-H-I-S C-R-Y-P-T!" **_The Icon boomed, using his skeletal arms to raise a bony tomb from the ground, with the seal of the Slayer on it. "_**H-E S-H-A-L-L B-E L-O-C-K-E-D A-W-A-Y, T-H-I-S T-I-M-E F-O-R G-O-O-D!"**_

Alastor turned adoring eyes to the Icon.

"_YES, MY KING! FOR ENDLESS ENTERTAINMENT ACROSS EVERY DIMENSION, I SHALL DO AS YOU BID!"_

His long, snake-like tongue slithered around in the air, as if sensing for blood. The Slayer unfurled the LMG, activating the rocket function, and firing several mini-missiles towards Alastor.

_Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!_

Alastor almost effortlessly dodged the missiles, catching two in the air between his fingers. He looked down at them, grinning madly.

"_IS THIS REALLY ALL YOU GOT?!" _He shouted. "_**THIS **__IS WHAT SCARED THE MIGHTY LUCIFER, KING OF DEMONS?! __**PATHETIC!"**_

He launched the missiles back at the Slayer, who darted away from the blast sites as they exploded in the ground, sending dirt flying in every direction.

"_Doom Slayer," _VEGA advised. "_He is extremely agile, but that means he is exchanging dexterity for endurance. I suggest finding a method to have him chained to the ground in some manner, then using a mighty weapon to finish him off."_

The Slayer scanned the environment, looking for any sort of restraining devices, continuing his sprint around the battlegrounds as he dodged the shadowy wisps and other demons alike.

It was then that he noticed the chains of which Lucifer had been bound. Though he had freed himself from them, the chains seemed only to be opened, not broken. The Doom Slayer grinned.

* * *

**| FOUND IT. |**

* * *

Meanwhile, Hayden and the Task Force were struggling to hold back the remaining demons, even with the help of the newly revived soldiers the Slayer had brought forth. They were getting slaughtered in droves, despite their fanatical fighting. Their crude weapons were hardly much against sturdy DOOM demons they were fighting against.

"_We must supply the Slayer's army with our weaponry." _Hayden surmised. "_That is the only way I can foresee us winning this fight, as almost all of our supplies are exhausted."_

Adams looked at Hayden with fear and hesitation.

"Wh-What? How do you expect us to get _all _the way over to where they are? Look what's between us and them!"

"_We only need a few people to go and deliver the weaponry." _Hayden concluded, turning his eye beams towards Adams, who was outraged by his idea.

"What the fuck? Are you out of your mind?! I'm not running across this bloodbath of a field to go transport some fucking-"

* * *

As time went on, the attacks on the Slayer became more numerous, and he began taking minor hits, swipes and blasts from various demons. A Hell Knight would ram into him when he was caught off-guard, a Baron would set fire to him from afar, a Revenant would blast him with rockets when he was busy trying to evade the shadowy wisps.

And those were the worst enemies by far, the damn wisps. No matter how much he tried to shoot at them, all of his bullets and gear passed through them. And yet, whenever they took a swipe at him, they would leave gashes in his skin, which seared with some sort of mysterious, toxic substance.

As the odds grew ever more against him, his rage was being fueled by the second.

_CRACK!_

He grabbed an Imp by its head and slammed it into his knee, crushing its skull.

_BANG!_

He shoved his shotgun into a Cyber Mancubus' throat and pulled the trigger, sending its guts exploding outwards from its enlarged stomach.

_**BWOOOO-**_

He used the Gauss Cannon to pinprick shoot a Revenant that was trying to snipe him with rockets in the distance.

As he did this last maneuver, his demonic sense began to tingle from behind, and just as he felt the malevolent claw of a Prowler on his shoulder, he grabbed it by the arm, flung it over his head and onto the ground, then raised his boot and stomped its skull in.

But none of this was nearly enough to curb the growing attacks. The landscape was, quite literally, _swimming _with demons of every type. He was practically moving across bodies piled upon each other at this point.

"_Why are the demons not disintegrating? Is this a willful action of the Icon of Sin?" _VEGA questioned.

Whatever the case was, it mattered not to the Slayer. He was getting ever closer to the chains, of which he would clasp to Alastor and then _BEAT HIM TO DEATH._

* * *

"FUUUUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK, **FUCK **THIS SUCKS!" Adams shouted in agonizing terror as he sat on the back of Benny, who was clearing a path through the sea of demons with his sword and shield, alongside Vaggie, who was carrying Niffty, who was in turn carrying an entire assortment of weapons in a net, the same as Adams.

"We're only a few hundred feet away from the soldiers," Benny shouted over the screechs and howls of the demonic forces. "So please stop shouting in my ear and get ready to distribute!"

"Okay, okay okay okay okay okay…" Adams muttered, seeing claws swipe only mere inches away from his face, fireballs careening over the heads of demons and exploding only a few meters away from him, the same with Revenants blasting rockets at him.

It seemed as if the demons themselves knew the intent of these four, and were doing everything in their power to stop it. It was only by Benny and Vaggie's phenomenal battle skills that they were just _barely _able to keep alive.

As Adams looked into the waves of demons clawing at him, he found himself being plagued with visions of falling off Benny and into the hordes of demons. They were _tearing at his skin, ripping apart his guts and feasting on his bowels-_

"ADAMS!"

Adams was jolted from his trance by Benny's roar.

"W-What?!"

"We're here! Start giving them out!"

Adams noticed that they were, indeed, here, and Niffty was tossing out the firearms and modern melee weapons like candy.

"And YOU get one, and YOU get one, and YOU get one!"

Adams climbed down from Benny, staying well behind the line of defense that these fanatical bastards were putting up, then began fishing into the net he had and giving out the weapons.

"Um, here you go sir-"

"**RIP AND TEAR!"**

"JESUS CHRIST!" Adams shouted in terror. That was all that these dudes were shouting, their eyes alight with some sort of dogmatic determination. "Uh, okay, take these weapons and go rip and tear then! Thank you!"

With the weapons now being in the hands of the Slayer's army, they began turning the tide of battle, blasting and tearing away at the hordes of lesser demons with bullets, clubs, swords and galore. Adams froze as he noticed a Prowler sprinting towards him, emitting a screech of rage.

_**THWACK!**_

One of the Slayer's soldiers came forward and clotheslined the oncoming Prowler with a large, electrified mace, sending it crumpling to the ground as the electricity sizzled the life out of its broken mass.

"Uh, uh…" Adams stuttered like Jeff Goldblum, looking at the soldier that had saved his life. "Thank you! Thank you so-"

"**RIP AND TEAR!"**

"...Yeah."

* * *

Alastor noticed the tide of demons began turning, as the Slayer's army were suddenly making a flank on the sea of demons as they beat, chopped, shot and burned demons left and right, while the main force was pushing the demons back towards the portal steadily.

"_FUCK!" _He cursed. "_YOU PATHETIC WHELPS NEED TO STEP YOUR SLAUGHTER GAME UP!"_

The Slayer, now able to move more freely as the demonic forces were having their attention focused on the other threats, lept up onto the platform.

"_Hello there." _VEGA announced. Alastor turned his slithering gaze towards them.

"_GENERAL KENOB- WAIT, FUCK! DIE, YOU SHITTERS!"_

Alastor swung one massively bulky arm at the Slayer, who weaved through the attacks easily. However, his attempted strikes at Alastor were dodged just as easily. Alastor cackled as they went back and forth, exchanging blows that never hit.

"_SEE? I TOLD YOU, SLAYER! I HAVE YOUR SAME DEXTERITY AND SPEED, EASILY ABLE TO WEAVE YOUR WEAK ATTACKS! YOU SHOULD LEARN TO-"_

_Clasp._

Alastor suddenly stumbled over himself as he felt something tug at his foot. He looked down to see one of the chains clasped around his ankle.

"_WHAT?! HOW-"_

He looked up to see the Doom Slayer planting the barrel of the BFG-9000 against his face.

_VvvvvVVVRRRRRRRR-_

"_Fuck." _Alastor muttered.

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!**_

The BFG shredded everything in front of it, leaving no trace of the platform nor Alastor. Only half of his right leg remained.

"_It seems that the job has been finished." _VEGA concluded.

And yet, right as the Doom Slayer had pulled the trigger, he had noticed just a slight trace of movement before the beam obliterated Alastor. He wasn't sure what it was, but now was not the time to deliberate.

He turned his attention to the Icon of Sin, who had been searing his eyes into the Slayer during the entire confrontation.

"_**Y-O-U A-R-E B-E-Y-O-N-D S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N." **_The Icon. "_**Y-O-U S-H-O-U-L-D H-A-V-E A-C-C-E-P-T-E-D D-E-F-E-A-T W-H-E-N I-T W-A-S T-H-E M-O-S-T P-A-I-N-L-E-S-S."**_

The ground began to shake, and the Slayer had to catch his balance on the platform.

And then, the ground exploded, shooting dirt into the sky, as two giant, muscly arms burst from the ground, clawing their way out of the dirt, followed by a gigantic, hulking body. The Slayer jumped off the platform as the body burst through the floor, landing a few dozen meters away as he observed the event.

Several demons were swallowed up in the caverns that formed from the void left in the ground, and dirt buried them alive as it came back down with the force of gravity.

And so the Slayer stood in front of the Icon of Sin, as the goat skull floated over to sit itself comfortably on top of the rest of the body it had pulled from the dirt. The Icon raised its arms, as if beholding the pure magnificence and power it held.

"_**A-N-D W-I-T-H T-H-I-S B-O-D-Y, D-O-O-M S-L-A-Y-E-R," **_He proclaimed. "_**I S-H-A-L-L C-R-U-S-H Y-O-U O-N-C-E A-N-D F-O-R A-L-L."**_


	29. THE DOOM SLAYER

**Cha****p****ter 29: THE DOOM SLAYER**

"WHAT THE HELL IS _THAT?!"_

Hayden looked to where Adams was pointing, in the distance. He spotted the monstrously large Icon of Sin, who had adopted a body for himself. He brought one, colossal arm up, intending to bring it down on the landscape.

"_EVERYONE, BRACE FOR AN EARTHQUAKE!" _He shouted, seeing the giant arm come down with a fury.

_**CRRAAAAACKK!**_

The shockwave was sent in every direction, knocking demons off their feet and killing a few in close proximity. The land itself quaked as the arm had ruptured the plates below, sending everything into chaos as the landscape broke apart and shifted around, crashing and grinding into one another.

Countless demons were swept in between the huge mounds of land crashing into each other, crushing them like insects. Soldiers on both sides of the conflict were being thrown around and killed by the constantly-moving landscape.

At this point, Hayden realized there was no other option except to retreat and leave the Doom Slayer to defeat the Icon of Sin. He raised one arm up, emitting a bright light from the tip of his index finger, while activating the megaphone function. The last thing he wanted to do was alert the Icon and the hordes of his plans, but it was far better than losing almost all of his forces to these events and _not _be prepared to attack once more.

"_**SOLDIERS, RETREAT!" **_He attempted to shout above the cacophonous noises of the ensuing earthquake. "_**GET BACK HERE AND RECUPERATE IMMEDIATELY!"**_

Everyone within earshot didn't bother to hesitate, scrambling back to the artillery placements while trying to keep steady footing on the moving landscape.

Meanwhile, the Slayer was having difficulties in staying on even ground even with his capabilities. He had been the closest to the blast, and he was entirely sure that if the Icon decided to slam the landscape another time, there would be no more landscape to stand on.

His mind raced as he tried to find a way to put an end to the Icon, once and for all. He had already tried blasting him this entire time with all of his arsenal, even employing the use of the BFG once more. While the BFG had knocked the Icon back for a moment, it did little to his strength and life.

"_Hayden still has the Crucible…" _VEGA reminded him.

The Slayer's mind clicked. It was the last thing he could think of for this scenario. He looked over towards Hayden, who was standing atop the hill.

"_I'll send him a message through my telecoms." _VEGA chirped.

As he was doing this, the Slayer waited for the Icon to throw another punch towards him, as he had been dodging and weaving the slow yet powerful shots the Icon was delivering. However, he noticed that the further up the arm was, the more spiked and dangerous the path was. In fact, there was a giant, spiked collar around the entirety of the Icon's goat skull, serving as a protection device.

The Slayer would have to break off the defensive measures before he went for the skull.

"_Hayden, the Slayer needs the Crucible."_

Hayden heard the message coming in from his bionic earpieces.

"_Oh? Is it absolutely necessary?"_

"_You dumb bionic bitch, I could not imagine a more necessary scenario than now."_

Hayden was almost taken aback by VEGA's crude response. He had not expected this of the neutral voice he had programmed so many years ago.

"_Very well. I shall toss it to the Slayer. Ensure to relay this to him."_

"_You're going to TOSS it? Do you have the throwing capability for such a distance?"_

"_I know my own limits."_

"_Then he shall be informed. Ensure to do it when he has reached the Icon's goat skull."_

The telecoms came to a close, and Hayden enhanced his vision to watch the Slayer begin his trek up the Icon's body as soldiers were fleeing around him, towards the artillery placements, which were quickly being re-converted into mobile carriers once more.

* * *

"_To your right."_

_WHOOOOOSH!_

"_Now your left."_

_WHOOOOSH!_

"_Right again."_

_WHOOOSH!_

The Slayer continued narrowly dodging the massive punches the Icon was throwing at him as the Slayer blew off portions of his left arm, attempting to make a path out of the spikes and other obstacles littering the Icon's body.

He was beginning to run out of ammo, and had no way of gaining more. Every shot had to count at this point.

Dodge left. Blast off an opening. Dodge right. Kill a Revenant harassing him in the air.

He saw an opportunity to conserve his ammo as he noticed a mess of Revenants begin to circle around him in the air. He waited for them to begin blasting rockets at him.

_PEW! PEW! PEW!_

A second before they hit their target, the Slayer dove out of the way, leaving the rockets to blow up more of the obstacles in the Slayer's path. He continued doing this until he managed to get up to the collar itself.

"_**F-O-O-L-S!" **_The Icon of Sin shouted in anger, swatting the Revenants out of the air like flies. "_**Y-O-U A-R-E H-E-L-P-I-N-G T-H-E S-L-A-Y-E-R! K-I-L-L H-I-M B-Y O-T-H-E-R M-E-A-N-S!"**_

The Slayer began relentlessly beating against the giant collar before him, sending cracks spindling all over the area. He noticed the shadow black out, and just barely managed to scoot by as the Icon attempted to crush him with one hand, as if he were a pesky mosquito.

"_**T-H-I-S I-S S-U-C-H A-N I-N-A-N-E E-N-D T-O Y-O-U, S-L-A-Y-E-R." **_The Icon hissed. "_**D-E-L-A-Y-I-N-G Y-O-U-R I-N-E-V-I-T-A-B-L-E D-E-M-I-S-E I-N S-U-C-H A P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C W-A-Y."**_

"_Hayden is ready to throw the Crucible to you when you're on the Icon's skull, Slayer." _VEGA told him. "_Be ready."_

The Slayer gritted his teeth, unsheathing the BFG-9000 as he prepped it to fire at the collar. And yet, as he was about to fire it, the monstrous hand came down once more on the spot, and the Slayer had to narrowly dodge it once more.

"_It seems we can't prepare the BFG within time before the Icon will try and crush you." _VEGA noticed. "_We need something to distract or keep him at bay until we're able to-"_

* * *

**| MY LEGIONS. |**

* * *

The Slayer's hordes of raised fallen turned back from their retreat, looking to the Slayer.

* * *

**| CLAMBER ONTO THIS FILTHY BODY OF THE ICON OF SIN, AND TEAR IT APART. |**

* * *

The eyes of his hordes shone brightly in an aggressive and dogmatic fashion.

"_**RIP AND TEAR!" "RIP AND TEAR!"**_

"_**RIP AND TEAR!" "RIP AND TEAR!"**_

"_**RIP AND TEAR!" "RIP AND TEAR!"**_

They ran back towards the Icon of Sin, hopping over the misshapen landscape, and began climbing onto the Icon's body, beating at the skeletal structure fanatically. The Icon tried shaking them off and crushing them with his limbs.

"_**F-U-C-K-I-N-G P-E-S-T-S!" **_He shouted in anger.

"_Now's your-"_

The Slayer didn't need to wait for VEGA to finish as he pulled out the BFG once more, preparing it to fire. The green orb in the middle began to rotate rapidly and grow in power.

_VvvvvvvvvvVVVVVRRRRRRRR-_

The Icon of Sin noticed what the Slayer was doing, but before he could raise his hand to try and crush the Slayer-

_**BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-**_

The BFG's laser tore through the entirety of the collar, breaking it off completely and seating the bottom part of the Icon' skull.

He hesitated no further, seeing the collar begin to rapidly regenerate. He dove past it, climbing up the base of the skull and onto the head.

"_Throw him the Crucible, Hayden!" _VEGA instructed.

In the distance, Hayden cocked his hand back, Crucible in hand, as he calculated the exact trajectory, acceleration, velocity, and other components to ensure this throw would reach the Doom Slayer.

"_And here. We. Go." _Hayden said.

_WHOOOOOSH!_

He threw the Crucible with such force the the surrounding air was temporarily sucked into the throw.

The Crucible rocketed towards the Doom Slayer, who was standing atop the skull, waiting to catch it.

_Wheeee-_

But before he could catch the Crucible, the Icon's hand came down upon the skull, and the Doom Slayer, with no way to move safely, instead chose to grab the oncoming hand just before it crushed him. He struggled to hold it back as the force behind the hand slowly pushed the Slayer into the skull, causing it to crack more and more as he was being forced into submission.

The Crucible continued to rocket towards the Slayer, only seconds away from reaching him.

And in a moment of both desperation and an undying rage to _finish the mission, _with no other option left_-_

He shouted, as loud and as hard as he could.

* * *

_**||RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH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* * *

The scream shook the very air, and trembled the hand of which the Slayer held. It was only a mere moment of hesitation and shock, but that moment was enough, as the force was released from the Slayer. He jumped through the gap between the Icon's fingers, catching the Crucible in the air, before double-jumping backwards, unsheathing the Crucible-

_**SHHHHVVVVOOOOOWWWWWW!**_

-and aiming the point downwards, towards the forehead of the Icon's goat skull.

_**CRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!**_

The skull was opened up as if it were made of paper as the Argent Energy sword plunged through it, sending ripples of pure, raw Argent Energy in every direction. The Slayer twisted the Crucible, causing the opening in the skull to widen, causing bursts of demonic energy to spew out like a noxious gas.

The blade broke off in the skull, leaving only the handle of the blade in the Slayer's hand. And yet, he knew it was no longer needed, throwing it off the side of the skull and hopping off, running away as the Icon began beating at the landscape, sending the already-misshapen ground into a complete shuffle.

"_**YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" **_The Icon cursed at the running Slayer, attempting to crawl after him. "_**YOU RUINED EVERY ONE OF MY FUCKING PLANS! YOU RATSHIT DOGFUCKER SON OF A CUNT-"**_

The Icon continued cursing at him with every known insult it had, as the Slayer made his escape, noticing the carriers were beginning to take off as the landscape was coming undone.

"_**I'LL KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE! I'LL HAVE MY HORDES OF DEMONS RAPE THAT LITTLE BITCH OF A PRINCESS YOU CARE FOR SO MUCH! I'LL-"**_

He stopped in his tracks as he noticed an Imp standing on his forehead, one holding a most mischievous grin. In his hand was the dimensional book the Icon had used to keep the last remnants of the portal open.

"Such a pottymouth." He cackled, hopping off the Icon's skull and onto a nearby cliffside.

"_**GIVE THAT BACK YOU FUCKER!" **_The Icon screeched.

"No, I don't think I will." Blitzo surmised, running towards the same mobile carriers that were taking off, followed quickly by Loona. "Sayonara, goat fucker!"

And so the battle came to an end, as did the land, as the Icon of Sin began to fall apart as the Argent energy blade stuck in its skull continued pouring energy into its core. The Icon screamed, shouted, cursed, pleaded and screeched while it came undone.

Just as the Slayer, Blitzo and Loona hopped on the last mobile carrier and were flying away, they got their last glimpse of the Icon of Sin as its crumbling remnants were buried under the sinkhole of a landscape it created.


	30. (Ending) Absolution

**Cha****p****ter 30: Absolution**

It took a few days for the group to return back to the mainland, and once they had returned, Charlie had almost immediately found out that her father had somehow been brought back to his chamber, and was resting comfortably.

"Does this dude have, like, plot armor or somethin'?" Angel questioned, upon hearing about Lucifer's return.

"Well, he _is _the King of Hell (or so we think), so I mean, it's not a far stretch to say that might be the case." Husk surmised.

Charlie spent the next few hours at his bedside, pondering a number of things.

She looked down at her father, Lucifer, who looked like a dead husk on the bed. If he wasn't the King of Hell, he would have surely died when he transferred all that power to the Doom Slayer.

_The King of Hell…_

For a moment, Charlie pondered once more on that question. Ever since they had gone to that village, she was left wondering about the state of this place, and if it really _was _Hell. But it had to be, right?

After all, everything came together like it _was _Hell. Overpopulation problems, the idea of there being lower levels of Hell…

But…

Then again, why were there cities? She had read books from Earth detailing Hell, and none of them foretold of cities where demons gathered and did...socializing stuff. It was more like some endless complex of eternal suffering, people in cages, burning in fires...stuff like that.

Maybe…

"Hey, Charlie."

Charlie turned around to see Vaggie in the doorway. She was deeply relieved to see that Vaggie had almost fully recovered from her initial state. She smiled.

"Hey, Vaggie."

"Hey, uh, would you mind calling me 'Vaga' instead? I, uh, spent some time thinking, and 'Vaggie' sounds really inappropriate. And...if we're _really _about to reincarnate, I don't want such a weird nickname, haha."

"Oh...yeah, of course...Vaga."

Charlie looked back out the window, only to notice Hayden and his UAC personnel, along with several hundreds of demons, were standing in front of the Doom Slayer.

"I wonder what they're doing…"

* * *

"_Weeeell...I suppose this is 'goodbye'." _Hayden articulated, watching the Doom Slayer as he waited for Blitzo and Loona to begin conjuring up a portal back to his dimension. Usually, it wouldn't take much time to open a portal to _their _Earth, but since this was entirely different dimension, it required a lot more incantations and such, as well as a good understanding of where they were opening a portal up.

"I've always hated using this damn book." Blitzo muttered. "I was always afraid I might open up a dimensional portal to some fuckin' horrorfest."

"Yeah, about that-" Someone suddenly spoke up. Blitzo turned his head to see who it was, then paled in the face.

It was that royal Owl fuck he couldn't remember the name of, and he seemed _very _displeased.

"I'm gonna have to get that book back once you're done. And then I'm gonna have to get _you _back."

"Uh, um…" Blitzo stuttered.

"Doom Slayer!"

The Slayer turned around to see Charlie running towards him, though she was taken aback by the red mist that was pooling from his armor and visor. He had been radiating terrifying amounts of dark energy since the battle, and his mood was quite possibly the worst she had ever seen since she'd met him. And yet, when he noticed her presence, his wrath seemed to lessen ever so slightly.

"Um…"

She wasn't sure what to say. In terms of conversation, there was none. Even more than that, their first meeting was terrible, and Charlie had never felt like she got to connect with the guy. Despite that, he had protected her so many times from death at this point, that she felt entirely indebted to him.

It was, quite possibly, the weirdest relationship she ever held with someone. And she was born in a land of demons.

She sighed, taking a deep breath. All of her worries thus far, in a long and drawn-out session of torture, suffering and humility, had ultimately resolved themselves. The threat to her homeland was destroyed, she was now respected and loved by her people, and those same subjects were ready to head on the path to redemption.

All they needed was a little...push.

In the form of an unstoppable, raging death machine with a terrifying name.

And for once, since the beginning of all this havoc and chaos, she couldn't help but smile. Meanwhile, Vaggie, who was standing nearby, was glad to see Charlie in high spirits again.

Meanwhile, the Doom Slayer was finishing up the last of his preparation to head back to Earth, and the portal was about finished. Samuel Hayden walked up beside him, looking at the portal.

"_It will be a relief to be back in our home dimension." _He said. The Slayer was silent, though he noticed Hayden was holding something in his hand.

"_I have decided that, after your display of...strength and ferocity in the recent excursion, it is clear that you are meant to be Earth's protector. Thus, I shall grant you the Unmaykr, an object I had created specifically for eliminating pure demons."_

Hayden brought the Unmaykr halfway towards the Slayer, who began to reach out, when Hayden stopped.

"_However, Slayer, you must know this; Once we enter back into our realm, you must ensure that your presence is kept hidden. Revealing yourself to a world populace that has no idea of your capabilities could prove disastrous- Hey, I'm not finished!"_

In the middle of his foreboding warning, the Doom Slayer tried to grab at the Unmaykr and pull it from Hayden's hands, and a quick tug of war ensued. In a show of loyalty, several UAC soldiers tried to grab onto Hayden and pull along with him. However, in the span of about 3-5 seconds, the Slayer yanked the Unmaykr from his hand, ripping it off. Hayden looked down at his missing limb and sighed.

"_I wasn't sure why I thought I would win that engagement."_

As he finished this statement, the portal had completed its transformation. However, it was milky-white, so that no one could see what was on the other side.

"_It would seem the portal has finished." _Hayden voiced, picking up his broken-off hand from the ground.

Charlie, who was watching the soldiers finish their final goodbyes to their fellow demon/human counterparts, she couldn't help but feel a burst of euphoria.

For the first time in a long time...she felt like..._singing._

She inhaled.

"Oh, through all the times we shared-"

No sooner did she begin before the Slayer audibly groaned in disgust and hopped through the portal, quickly followed by Hayden and his UAC personnel. Within a minute, the portal had closed, leaving only the air and a deeply dismayed Charlie behind.

"Yeah, I kinda expected that…" Vaggie mumbled under her breath. Charlie sighed, exiting her pose.

"Well, at least we can get started on redemption-"

But before she could get the sentence out, there was something cresting on the horizon. Charlie squinted her eyes. It seemed to be some sort of harshly bright light, which was rapidly expanding in every direction. She became increasingly alarmed as her eyesight began to fill with this white vision, until she could hardly see anything.

And in a flash...

* * *

** | To Be Continued: Layers of Hell: Scorched Earth |**


End file.
